


A Little Knowledge is a dangerous Thing...

by Mistymay6886



Series: Magnus the ACTUAL Psychic (Verse 6) [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Case Fic, Detectives, Drama, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Psychic Abilities, psychic detective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2020-02-23 20:10:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18709144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistymay6886/pseuds/Mistymay6886
Summary: Magnus Bane is a newly transferred Detective to the SBPD. His track record is truly remarkable, closure rate absolutely unprecedented, though how he manages it is a total mystery. He does have a bit of a reputation for taking reckless, dangerous risks in his pursuit of the truth, though with results like his the higher ups tend to look the other way.The man is notorious for doing things his own way, and on his own terms…Which is quite fortunate, as his investigative techniques are rather…unorthodox…He always works alone, and that’s the way he prefers it…That comes to a rather abrupt halt when he’s partnered with Alec Lightwood the completely by the book, logical- and irritatingly attractive- Head detective of the precinct.Will they be able to get past their differences and make the partnership work, or will it prove to be too much?





	1. At Least the View’s Nice…

**Author's Note:**

> #  _ 💛💛💛Chapter Complete!!!💛💛💛 _
> 
>  
> 
> ***Blanket Note For All Verses 3-9***
> 
> _ Kay, so here’s the thing, originally I was planning on starting these kinda in shifts, but I’m impatient and I really want to get this stuff going… _
> 
> _ So over the next three weeks I am going to be starting universes _
> 
> _ 3-9 _
> 
> _** **(10 won’t start till the others are well underway for a very specific reason)** ** _
> 
>  
> 
> _ So some of them may take a bit to update but I will have the 1st half of chapter 1 up for all of them by May 10th (I’m setting me a deadline damnit) _
> 
>  
> 
> _ The SEM Verse is still my main focus right now and will still be updated at least once a week…the others updates will be a bit more random depending on which one my mind is running with at that moment _
> 
>  
> 
> _ I know it seems like a lot and not gonna lie that’s cause it IS but my mind has been running with these for over a year now, I think it’ll work out just fine… _
> 
>  
> 
>  _All the universes I will most likely just update half a chapter at a time_ _._   _The 1st stories of them will mainly just be introducing our characters and getting a feel for the world so- with the exception of the 40’s with a twist the 1st stories will only be 8 chapters,_
> 
>  
> 
> _ Kay onto our regularly scheduled program _
> 
> Alrighty, last one to start! (Well except for 10 but that will wait a while for…reasons-promise it’ll be worth the wait).  so honestly this one I have the least amount worked out- it literally just started because in my 1st verse Magnus is a fake psychic with an eidetic memory and I got to thinking what if it was the reverse?
> 
> So…this one we’re gonna kinda play by ear…
> 
> I am thinking this one’s gonna run a bit more serious case fic kinda centered, just with psychic twists- which I’m actually really excited about as I always like those kinda thing.
> 
> I have ideas of where we’re going but even when I have something clearly laid out I tend to wander so I really don’t know what we’ll end up with here…
> 
> I think it’ll be interesting though-
> 
> _And really, who doesn’t like odd couple partnerships, obvious sexual tension and exciting case fics with a psychic twist?_
> 
> _Kay, here we go…_
> 
>  

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##  _*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*_

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_Okay…this will be fine…_

You’ve done it before- in all likelihood you’ll do it several more times. A first day is a first day, is a first day…it never ends up as daunting as it seems beforehand.

 

You’ll be fine, have them charmed and enamored in no time…

 

_Ugh…it’d be so much easier if he could just get Raph to join the force. Have someone really in the know watching his back…but noooo…he just wants to open the newest location of Chaos and drink and cavort and feed._

_That should be **him** damnit!_

Clearly somewhere along the line they got mixed up…

 

_Eh, like he said it will be fine; he always worked best on his own anyways._

 

He sighed faintly, flipping the mirror down, carefully checking his eyeliner. Reaching over to the passenger seat, digging in the front pocket of his satchel he retrieved a small tube of shimmery raspberry lip balm, quickly touching it up. It was far more subdued than his usual, but it WAS his first day.

 

Really any makeup would probably get more than a few odd looks from the other people at the precinct. Not that that had ever really bothered him, quite the opposite, in fact. There were times he’d actually go out of his way to be over the top simply because he knew it made some of the more uptight, close-minded types twitchy and nervous.

 

Even so, he figured he’d put that on hold for a bit. At least till he got established here. For the first week or so he’d do the subtle thing, kind of ease them in. Once he gets acclimated and the numbers start rolling in they won’t care what the hell he does makeup wise.

 

He glanced once more at his reflection, giving a slight nod.

 

_There, perfect._

_Kay here we go._

 

He reached over, grabbing his satchel, climbing out of the car, making his way from the parking structure to the front doors of the SBPD. Stepping out of the SBPD parking structure he took a deep breath, blinking a few times trying to acclimate to the brilliant California sunshine.

 

_Well, if anything the weather here was a hell of a lot better than back in New York._

 

Magnus slowed, taking in the bright sun, ubiquitous palm trees and oddly cheery building. Gotta say he’s never seen a precinct that looked quite this welcoming. Most were so stark and bland. This one was a light cream color with a rich red tiled roof in a fairly decorative style. Definite improvement right there.

 

Magnus slowed as a group of people whizzed past on rollerblades.

 

“Sorry dude!” a kinda tall, blond guy called back in a nearly stereotypical surfer dude type accent, turning around, eyes flickering over Magnus, flashing a quick smile and a bit of a wink.

 

Magnus couldn’t help but chuckle, flickering a quick wave, flashing a quick wink himself.

 

_Okay…maybe California did have its benefits._

_Sunshine, palm trees, more laid back, precinct less than a mile from the beach, cute surfer boys…_

_Yeah, this could totally work for him._

Magnus shook his head, beginning up the steps with a bit more of a spring in his step, slipping through the door, curiously glancing around.

 

Hmm…nice place.

 

 A fair bit more colorful than the precinct back home, which was most definitely totally fine with him. It almost seemed cheery. The walls were a warm mustard color, with rich reddish brown tile accents and subtle detailing around the archways.

 

Magnus blinked.

 

Okay…maybe the whole makeup thing wouldn’t seem so out of place here…He glanced around. The place was hopping; several officers, detectives and other assorted personnel milling about or setting at desks hard at work.

 

Hmm…the architecture was quite appealing, but also somewhat confusing. He couldn’t seem to spot the chiefs office.

 

_Well...no sense being clairvoyant if you can’t use it to your own advantage every now and then._

 

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment, centering himself, focusing his mind on what he needed to know…

 

_Chief Garroway…_

 

He turned the words over in his mind, clearing out everything else, visualizing them as a solid, tangible entity…

 

_Hmm…_

_Green…Wasn’t really expecting that, but whatever works…_

He blinked his eyes open, the rest of the office taking on a bit of a muted, subdued quality, almost just out of focus. He looked up, eyes roaming over the office, looking for the glimpse of bright, shimmering green…the thing that’d stand out the most. His eye’s catch on an office along the back wall, the door partly open, nearly obscured from his view by a potted plant.

 

Well, no wonder he couldn’t find it.

 

If not for the now shimmering green aura emanating from the door he’d never be able to pick it out in the busy station. He blinked a few times, clearing his vision, taking a deep breath to cover the faint shiver the odd ear popping sensation caused anytime he’s coming out of it. He slipped around the edge of the bull pen, making his way to the office, slowing a bit as he caught voices from inside.

 

“Alec, I know it’s not what you’re used to but I really do think he’ll be a good fit.”

 

“Luke, you know I don’t usually make waves and I have the upmost respect for you but I think you’re way off on this one. This is a huge mistake, there’s no way it’ll work out.”

 

“I realize it’s not what you’re used to b-”

 

Magnus sighed faintly, feeling that familiar prickly little feeling. He knew all too well what that feeling meant. One of the downsides to being psychic, you always knew when someone was talking about you…even if you didn’t want to.

Alright well ‘Luke’ had to be Luke Garroway the SBPD chief so at least his new boss had his back. He didn’t know who this ‘Alec’ was, but he sounded like a stuffy, uptight, Boyscout. He never really got on with that type. They annoyed the hell out of him and he tended to make them nervous and twitchy.

 

Eh, it’s a fairly large precinct, probably won’t have to work with him too terribly much. Besides he was an expert at putting that type off, this Alec guy would fold long before Magnus. Even so, it was most definitely not the worst reaction he’s received. That Jackass FBI agent Hodge Starkweather had taken one look and flat out refused to work a case with him. Magnus still ran circles around the arrogant jackass; found the info, got the results and left his condescending, backwards, homophobic ass in the dust.

 

Not gonna lie, that part was almost more satisfying than actually solving the case.

 

_Guy REALLY didn’t like being shown up by a ‘flouncing, over-dramatic, drama-queen’- His words._

No way this ‘Alec’ couldn’t be worse than that. Regardless, he’s not going to just skulk around in the hallway. If they’re gonna be talking about him he may as well be part of the conversation. Besides if anything those uptight types were always Oh so fun to screw with…

It would be nice to have a hobby at work.

Magnus smirked, reaching up, wrapping quickly on the doorframe before slipping in, flashing a quick, charming smile at the slightly older, very attractive man sitting at the desk. Chief Garroway returned the smile, quirking his eyebrow in faint confusion.

 

“Hello, can I help you?”

 

Magnus gave a bright smile and a slightly flamboyant flicker of a wave.

 

“Hey there! You must be Chief Garroway. I’m Magnus Bane, your new detective. I’m so very excited to meet my new colleagues, this place already seems so _very_ welcoming and vivacious.” he finished in an overly cheery- verging  on campy- tone, glancing around the office, eager to see his new hobby.

 

He froze, eyes widening.

 

_Woah…his new hobby was REALLY hot._

Magnus swallowed, eyes not-even-remotely-subtly roaming over the tall, utterly gorgeous man with the slightly startled expression, faintly messy black hair falling into very pretty light hazely green eyes.

 

“Well hello there, and who might you be?”

 

The guy flushed slightly before seemingly shaking it off, standing up a bit straighter, smiling, moving forward to greet Magnus, extending his hand.

 

“Head Detective Alec Lightwood, welcome to the SBPD. Glad to have you on board.”

 

Magnus reached forward, taking his hand in a firm, confident grip, shaking, lingering slightly, eyes flickering over Alec once more.

 

_Hmm…so very pretty…._

_If anything the view here was nice…_

 

He probably should wait. Give this a pass, chalk it up to first day foibles and move on. Take the high road and make do by proving the oh so pretty detective wrong. It **_is_** his first day after all…and the head detective _would_ technically outrank him. He should at least wait till he gets his desk before starting to make waves with the head detective…

 

_Still, he’d never been the type to just let something lie._

 

He tilted his head, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Really? That’s rather surprising…I suppose my hearing must be off- jet lag and all that. I could have sworn you had just said me being here was a ‘Huge mistake’?”

 

Alec startled a little, blinking, cheeks coloring bright. He shook his head quickly.

 

“Oh! No, I didn’t m-”

 

Magnus rolled his eyes, giving a somewhat unprofessional, very sarcastic look.

 

“Sweetheart? Little tip; when you’re talking about someone maybe close the door first…

 

Especially when they’re expected to arrive at any minute.”

 

Alec shook his head again, making a placating gesture.

 

“No, that’s n-I didn’t mean, that’s out of…” he trailed off with an aggravated huff, rubbing his temples. He took a deep breath, glancing up, meeting Magnus’s eyes, flashing a sincere, apologetic smile, beginning again.

 

“Look, I’m sorry for making you feel unwelcome, I really am. That was in no way my intention, but I promise you really did just mishear. I have no problem whatsoever with you being here. Your record is impeccable; by all accounts you are one of the best. I am sure you will be an exceptional fit for our precinct. You’d be a great asset anywhere.

 

I didn’t say you _being_ here was a mistake.”

 

Magnus blinked in confusion.

 

_Okay, either the man was the best liar on the planet or he was telling the truth…_

_He had no problem with Magnus being here. Actually…going by a few of the hints he could pick up he was rather eager to have Magnus as part of his precinct…_

_Which was…_

_Umm…_

_A-anyways…_

_But he WAS talking about Magnus…he knows that for a fact…_

 He tilted his head in confusion.

 

“So if you’re okay with me being here then what was a ‘huge mistake’?”

 

Alec gave a slightly apologetic shrug.

 

“Us being partners.”

 

Magnus froze, every bit of his usual buzzing energy, senses, and all the rest coming to a crashing halt.

 

**_Oh…CRAP…_ **

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##  _*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*_

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#  __

_Oh Crap!_

_No, no, no, that SO will not work._

_He can’t have a partner!_

_He works alone…he ALWAYS works alone…_

_That’s the only way it works!_

What if he zones out or gets a flash when he’s talking to him? What if he needs Raphael or Clarissa’s help with a case or clue or a suspect? He can’t say he just has to randomly go visit a club owner or casually mention they should stop by an occult shop.

 

Even if it’s just him, he can’t have someone looking over his shoulder when he’s reading a room. He can’t just say- ‘Oh I just had a hunch there was a secret panel in the floor where the money was hidden that is totally indistinguishable from any of the other boards’.

 

I mean he has workarounds for some stuff- claiming he had a hunch or something seemed off, he caught this or that, saying he has an eidetic memory- but there are only so many explanations that don’t make people suspicious.

 

And everything he can feel from this ‘Alec’ says he’s practical, logical, by the book. He’s not just gonna accept a ‘hunch’, he will need a solid reason.

 

_That is NOT something Magnus can always give…_

 

He can’t explain that he knew ‘This’ was the location the thieves would hit next out of dozens of other, equally likely options. You can only claim a lucky hunch so often before people start to suspect something…

 

I mean it’s possible after they’ve worked together for a bit and he’s seen Magnus’s results for himself he might be less apt to ask for proof, but that would take time. What if he gets a flash of something that’s gonna happen right away? Something that he doesn’t have twenty minutes to come up with an adequate explanation? What if something happens and he’s wasting time trying to find an explanation for this logical, rational, by the book detective for something that straight up does NOT have a logical, down to earth explanation?

 

What if because of the explanations they miss something he could have prevented?

 

He knows this Head Detective Lightwood- knows the type. He is a detective through and through. He’s the type to examine and cross-examine everything twice. He needs facts, answers, he’s not just gonna be satisfied with ‘well it worked out’ he’s gonna want to know how, why…

 

He’s gonna have questions…

 

LOTS of questions…

_Questions Magnus cannot answer._

 

Hell, that’s the main reason he’d decided to uproot his life and move clear to the other side of the country. Too many close calls, too many times when he just couldn’t come up with an explanation fast enough, too many questions he could not answer…

 

Not with something a hardnosed, level headed detective would actually accept. And if he were to get fed up and tell the truth he could pretty much kiss his career goodbye. He’s no fool; he’s heard the jokes and comments whenever the idea of bringing in a psychic is mentioned.

 

It’s nothing more than a joke, a punch line, something usually tossed out there to bring up a laugh when a case gets too tense. A way to lighten a situation with the absurdity.

 

That was not Magnus…

 

_That will **never** be Magnus._

 

He is not a joke- he has worked over a decade building up his career, being the best detective he could be. He has put near everything he has into this job. Being a detective isn’t just his job- it’s a calling. It’s what he’s meant to do…what he’s always been destined for…he knows that with every fiber of his being.

 

He’s not a ‘psychic detective’…he is a detective…he’s just a detective who happens to be secretly psychic. And it’s damn sure gonna stay that way.

 

He doesn’t need any kind of psychic powers to know exactly how being ‘outed’ would go. It’d be a double edged sword. The second the word ‘psychic’ gets attached to you, every last ounce of creditability you had goes right out the window. He’d be seen as nothing more than a joke, hardly anyone would believe him, he’d just be written off as some loon.

 

On the flipside the few who might actually believe he IS psychic would see his abilities as an unfair advantage. All of his accomplishments from the entirety of his near decade long career would be muted, dismissed as just the result of a fluke of nature. They’d probably wonder why if he has these abilities he couldn’t do more…

 

There is no ‘winning’ there. 

 

No two ways about it, that was not happening,

 

It’s not.

 

Partnerships were close. They got complicated, messy, there’s no way he could work that closely with someone on a daily basis and not have them figure out something odd was going on…

 

_And anywa-_

 

“…orry, it’s really nothing personal.”

 

_Huh?_

Magnus shook himself out of his panic, looking over in faint confusion at Detective Lightwood.

 

_Oh for heaven’s sakes, as if he didn’t have enough to deal with. How in the hell does a gorgeous, six foot four, grown man and head detective have a hurt puppy look **that** good?!_

_That’s just not fair damnit!_

 

Apparently he’d taken Magnus’s brain crashing and re-booting as him being offended Alec didn’t want to partner with him. Alec sighed, stepping forward, shaking his head.

 

“I could be wrong, I mea-”

 

Magnus shook his head quickly.

 

“No! You were totally right the first time. You’re a detective, go with your instincts, bad idea…

 

REALLY bad idea.” he shook his head once more, ignoring the slightly startled, confused look the detective now had, shifting his gaze from Alec over to Luke.

 

“Look sir, I am sure Detective Lightwood is a truly exceptional detective but I don’t work with a partner. And I know that seems odd, but I have a very specific way of doing things and it doesn’t work with a bunch of other people around.

 

I’m used to working alone…it’s the only way I know how to do this. The only way I can promise you the same results I got at my other precinct. It’s the whole reason you wanted me here.”

 

Luke sighed, leaning forward.

 

“Magnus I know you work alone, I’ve read your file, and your record IS very impressive, you have more closures than any detective I have ever seen…”

 

Magnus nodded quickly, relaxing minutely.

 

“Exactly, and to k-”

 

Luke held up a finger.

 

“However you _also_ have racked up more citations for reckless behavior and unreasonable stunts than any detective I’ve ever seen.”

 

Magnus faltered.

 

_Umm…Yeah…he kinda had him there…_

_Still…_

 

“Okay…well now about that…”

 

Luke sighed, shaking his head apologetically.

 

“Magnus your case record truly is exceptional and I know in the past that has afforded you far more leeway than most. However I really can’t do that. If you’re in my precinct you are my responsibility. And I would like you to be able to keep up those numbers…

 

But **_not_** at the expense of your own safety.

 

Magnus you really are an exceptional detective-there’s no question about that, but you need to be able to rein it in and follow the rules, at least to an extent. I understand that this work is intense and there is a real drive to solve the case.  Going above and beyond is truly admirable, but being rash and reckless to the point of disregarding your own personal safety is not acceptable, regardless of the stakes.

 

We put our lives on the line to protect people but that doesn’t mean we start with the most dangerous option right out of the gate.

 

Alec is the best training officer I’ve eve-”

 

**_What!?_ **

 

“Wait, wait, wait… _Training officer?!_ I’ve been a detective for nearly a decade!”

 

Alec stepped forward.

 

“See Luke? I told you it was a bad idea; it’s insulting.”

 

Magnus nodded quickly, gesturing emphatically towards Alec,

 

_“What he said!”_

 

Luke put his hands up placatingly.

 

“I didn’t mean it like that. I am not in any way discounting your experience or belittling your skills. As I said you are an excellent detective, there is no question about it.

 

Alec is not ‘training’ you; he is in no way responsible for you-”

 

“ _Oh, thank god_ …” Alec muttered.

 

Magnus quirked his eyebrow, glancing over, Alec caught the look, giving a slightly sheepish shrug and an apologetic smile.

 

“Uh…sorry…but I’ve _also_ seen your file…”

 

Magnus laughed, shrugging.

 

“No, I get it. I wouldn’t want to be ‘responsible’ for me either.”

 

 Luke chuckled faintly.

 

“Look Magnus, you are an exceptional Detective; no one’s questioning that…But so is Alec. He has one of the highest closure rates in California, along with numerous awards for meritorious conduct and bravery in the line of duty. In fact two years ago he received the Congressional Badge of Bravery”.

 

Again Magnus hesitated, glancing curiously over at the man, quirking his eyebrow. Alec gave a diffident shrug, rubbing at the back of his neck, glancing away.

 

“I was just doing my job…”

 

**_Wow…_ **

****

_Only a handful of officers ever receive that. That was a huge deal. And Alec was acting as if it was barely worth mentioning, was actually being downright humble about it._

_Which was **really** curious._

_It was one of the highest honors an officer could receive…_

_Why would someone downplay that?_

Magnus tried to shake the little intrigued buzz, but he could feel his resolve weakening.

 

_No…_

 

This would not work.

 

_It would not…_

 

It’s a bad idea. He absolutely cannot have a partner. Random pipe dreams of convincing Raph to join the force aside he’d never even wanted one before. It was just far too much of a risk. It would be a huge, complicated mess of lies and obstacles. He had never wanted a partner.

 

At least he never did…

 

_But hell if he didn’t REALLY want this one._

Magnus sighed, giving a somewhat apologetic look at Alec before shifting back over to Luke, shrugging.

 

“I…That really is very impressive, but I d-”

 

Luke held his hand up.

 

“Magnus? Just give it a chance. I know it’s not what you’re used to, it’d be a huge adjustment, but I really think both of you would benefit. You two have very different styles, but I think your skill sets will complement each other perfectly. How about this?

 

Give it a month. Just one month. Try it out, see how it goes. If by the end of the month you still really don’t want to work together we’ll figure out something else…

 

Okay?”

 

Magnus blinked, glancing over at Alec.

_Well, hell…kinda backed him into a corner there, didn’t he?_

 

Alec met his eyes, shrugging, flashing a faint, almost challenging smirk.

 

_Ooh…that’s…_

_Umm…_

_Mmm…_

 

“I can handle it if you can.”

 

Magnus blinked, feeling a dizzy little buzz at that sexy smirk. He quirked his eyebrow, giving a disbelieving huff.

 

“You really think I’m so easy to manipulate?”

 

Alec chuckled, quirking his eyebrow right back.

 

“No, I think you’re too stubborn to back down from a challenge.”

 

Magnus couldn’t help a surprised laugh.

 

“Well Detective Lightwood, if anything you’re a hell of a judge of character.”

 

Alec shrugged,

 

“I have my moments.”

 

Magnus quirked his eyebrow, folding his arms.

 

“You DO realize I am probably gonna drive you totally insane right? Honestly I’m pretty bizarre.”

 

Alec chuckled, giving that sexy, challenging smirk again.

 

“Without a doubt, as I said; _I’ve seen your file._ But I’ve been a detective for over a decade, I’m sure I’ve dealt with more bizarre things than you.”

 

Magnus scoffed.

 

“Careful; that almost sounds like another challenge.”

 

He shrugged, meeting Magnus’s gaze head on.

 

“Maybe it is…” He turned, stepping a bit closer, once more extending his hand.

 

 “So, what do you say? Are we gonna give this a shot?

 

Or are you too scared?”

 

_Oh…he did **NOT** just say that…_

_It’s on._

Magnus scoffed, reaching out, taking his hand in a firm, confident handshake.

 

“I’m in.”

 

Alec grinned, flashing a quick wink at Luke.

 

“Told you I could get him to agree to it. Next time we go for drinks you’re buying.”

 

_What!?_

Magnus looked quickly between the two men, blinking rapidly.

“W…okay, I never say this, but for once I have absolutely no clue what’s going on here…”

 

Alec gave a faint chuckle, and a slightly playful smile.

 

“Come on now; by all accounts you’re brilliant. You **_really_** think two trained detectives just ‘forgot’ you were coming in? Everyone knows you don’t work with partners, but it’s pretty obvious you need one…badly.

 

_VERY badly._

Figured this was the easiest way to get you to agree.”

Magnus blinked uncomprehendingly.

 

_W-what? But t-that’s n…that doesn’t…it’s n-_

_WHAT?!_

 

He focused back on Alec, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Did you just play me?”

 

Alec smirked.

 

“Pretty much, yeah.”

 

 He moved a bit closer, squeezing Magnus hand once more with, smirk shifting to a slightly impish smile.

 

“Can’t wait to work out first case…

 

Partner.”

 

Again Magnus blinked uncomprehendingly.

 

_What the HELL just happened!?_

 

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	2. Sexy Smirks And Sincerity Are A Dangerous Combination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ##  _ 💛💛Chapter Complete!!💛💛 _
> 
>  
> 
> Magnus learns he may be more at home at the station than he thought...

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##  _*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*_

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_Seriously what the HELL just happened? He’s a freaking psychic, how did he not see this coming?!_

_Maybe it’s still a touch of jetlag?_

_He_ **_did_ ** _move clear across the country…that could throw anyone off…_

_Y-yeah…that must be it._

Okay, I mean it’s not  _totally_  unheard of for a psychic to miss something. ‘Psychic’ doesn’t mean you automatically know everything; it’s a hit and miss kinda thing, but still…What the hell?

 

How does an annoyingly hot Boyscout of a detective actually get one over on him? And it’s not just some little bluff or inconsequential thing- he got him to agree to be partnered with him! And now he's stuck. He was here, paperwork’s all went through, his deposit on his apartment already cleared, along with his signing of a two year lease. Hell, even his two best friends are already settled in; Raph with his new location for Chaos and Clary with her occult shop.

 

 He’s here and he is partnered with an annoyingly hot, intelligent, highly skilled detective who apparently may be almost as skilled at reading people and manipulation as Raph.

 

Only with this ‘Detective Lightwood’ it wasn’t a psychic ability…he was just that good.

 

In general he’d find those skills quite welcome and useful- but that doesn’t apply when said skills are turned back against him. Credit where credits due; it _was_ kinda impressive. Even Raph couldn’t generally play him, and he had the whole enthralling, mesmerizing, magnetic thing.

 

At least Alec’s sneaky,  _sneaky_  scheme doesn’t come with the almost hangover of a psi Vamp feeding, so if anything there’s that.

 

_Even so this w-_

“Oh come on now; you’re not gonna sulk all day just because I got one over on you, are you?”

 

Magnus startled.

 

_Damnit…now he’s sneaking up on him…_

_Damn jetlag._

Magnus sighed, rolling his eyes, turning to face the pretty Boyscout jackass- otherwise known as his new partner.

 

_Man that’s gonna take some serious getting used to._

“I’m not ‘sulking’ I’m just getting my desk set up. And FYI you may as well enjoy it cause that’s the only time it’ll ever happen. It’s my first day and I still have jetlag…I’m off my game.

 

That is SO not happening again.”

 

Alec chuckled, quirking his eyebrow teasingly, pretty greenish hazel eyes bright and slightly mischievous.

 

“That almost sounds like a challenge.”

 

_Hmm…Damn…that was..._

_Stop it…_

Magnus swallowed, trying to shake that off with a slight huff, rolling his eyes, shaking his head.

 

“Uh uh, don’t even try it. Just put the pretty eyes and sexy smirk away, I ain’t falling for it. What did you want?”

 

A flicker of surprise flashed over Alec’s features, along with a far too appealing slight blush, glancing away for a moment before looking back, giving an apologetic smile.

 

“Look, I am sorry I tricked you, and I swear it wasn’t just me trying to screw with the new guy or anything like that. I think this’ll be a good thing. I’ve seen your file and heard a few accounts from people who’ve worked with you…” he paused, shrugging, rubbing at the back of his neck.

 

“I’m actually the one who suggested to Luke to offer you the job.”

 

_Damnit…how the hell does someone switch so seamlessly between sexy challenging and endearingly, earnest puppy eyes?_

_No one should be able to pull off both so perfectly…_

Magnus sighed, tilting his head.

 

“You did?”

 

Alec nodded flashing one of those damned- way too appealing- hopeful smiles.

 

“Yeah…I’ve read a lot of the articles about your cases. It’s really impressive; I thought you’d be a great fit here. It was actually kind of my idea for us to partner together.”

 

Magnus smirked flirtatiously, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Ah…so you’re a fan of mine, hmm?”

 

Alec flushed lightly, chuckling, shaking his head.

 

“I wouldn’t say ‘fan’-”

 

Magnus grinned.

 

“I would.”

 

Alec rolled his eyes.

 

“Of course you would…I’m not a fan- I just recognize talent. You definitely have something special. I wanted you for our precinct but Luke wouldn’t agree to having a detective flying solo- even with your extraordinary closure rate. The only way he’d bring you onboard was if you had a partner, and quite frankly with your _equally_ as extraordinary rate of citations and reckless behavior even  _with_  a partner he was a bit hesitant.

 

 I offered to partner with you because I knew I was probably the one he’d feel most comfortable having working with you but more than that I did it because I genuinely think we would be good together. Between the two of us we have over twenty years of experience. We have wildly different styles but I think that’s kinda what we both need.

 

You don’t seem to know when to pull back or play it safe and I have trouble making snap decisions or having to adjust on the fly.” he paused, giving a slight shrug, leaning against the desk.

 

“Look Magnus, I know you prefer to work alone and I can totally understand the appeal. You’re only responsible for yourself, only have to answer for yourself, only have to worry about yourself. I get that- I really do…

 

But it’s also absurdly dangerous and playing with fire. This job is dangerous as hell and things can turn on a dime and go to hell in a second flat. You need someone with you, someone to watch your back, someone you can trust. I get that how I went about it was a bit underhanded and I apologize. I know basically playing you during our very first meeting is not really a way to instill trust or to endear yourself to someone, especially someone who you are supposed to be able to trust with your life.

 

But it truly was the only way I could come up with. I wasn’t just trying to see if I could trick you or throw you off balance just for the hell of it.

 

I think we both could really benefit from this partnership. But in order for that to happen we have to first both be willing to actually give it a chance. And no offense Magnus but I don’t need three years of profiler training to know you’re stubborn as hell. You are used to working alone, pretty much answering to no one, doing things your way or no way.

 

 Can you honestly tell me there is  _ **any**_  other way I could have gone about it and still got you to agree to give this partnership a shot?” He finished, looking up meeting Magnus’s eyes.

 

Magnus swallowed, totally at a loss.

 

_Damnit…_

_How the hell does he do that?_

There’s no defense against that level of sincerity.

 

_Well except good ol’ deflection and humor._

 

Magnus gave a casual shrug, eyes blatantly trailing over Alec before shifting back up, meeting his gaze, waggling his eyebrow impishly.

 

“You could have tried seducing me into it.”

 

Alec flushed, laughing in surprise, rolling his eyes teasingly, giving a flippant wave.

 

“Eh, that was plan B if the whole ‘false conversation bluff’ thing didn’t work; but since you were ‘off your game’ I didn’t have to go that route.”

  

_“ **Damn** this jetlag…”_

 

Alec chuckled, giving a hopeful, almost pleading smile. 

 

“So that’s a yes? You’re gonna at least try to make this partnership work?”

 

Magnus sighed, rolling not only his eyes but his whole head, giving a faint groan with a flippant wave.

 

“Okay damnit; put away the puppy eyes, I said I’m in, I’m in. But just remember when I drive you absolutely crazy this whole thing was your own doing so you only have yourself to blame.”

 

Alec absolutely beamed, chuckling, waving him off.

 

“I’ll remember, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. Come on, I’ll show you around a bit and I want you to meet some people. I really think you’re gonna like it here.”

 

Magnus couldn’t help a faint chuckle, falling into step next to his new partner…

 

_His new partner…_

 

_Oh man this was such a bad idea…_

_It was SO gonna blow up in their faces…_

 

He glanced over, catching Alec’s eye and a bright smile that left Magnus lightheaded and a little breathless.

 

_Damn…_

_Gotta admit till it did he sure as hell was gonna enjoy that view…_

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_Alec led him through the station, diligently pointing out different things and giving little tips about the in’s and out’s of the SBPD. It was far too endearing…_

_So was that gorgeous smile._

_Man he’s in so much trouble here…_

_They made their way into the file room, Magnus spotting a couple guys_ _animatedly talking as they gathered a few things from the shelves. He slowed a bit, head tilting in interest._

_Both were fairly young, probably mid twenties. One had slightly curly light brown hair and warm, bright golden brown eyes. He was gesturing wildly, practically bouncing on his heels seemingly an excitable ball of energy. His partner seemed a little more subdued but no less charming. He had a deeper golden complexion, curly black hair and deep, quite striking bluish green eyes. He was smiling brightly at something the other guy said, affectionately rolling his eyes._

_Both men were quite attractive but that’s not what caught Magnus’s attention…well, not just that. What did was that quirky little buzzing feel in the back of his head…. he knew that feeling all too well._

_They were both psychic…_

_Hmm…_

_Must admit, that’s rather unexpected…_

_Quite buoying though. Perhaps he will fit in here better than he thought._

_“No Kev, I’m telling you the third one’s SO much better- they were just trying to find their stride, it’s j- Oh hey Alec,” the lighter haired guy paused mid sentence catching sight of them, flashing a brilliant smile to Alec, gaze shifting over to Magnus._

_He blinked in surprise, giving a slightly geeky wave that was absolutely adorable._

_“Wow, you’re pretty…Oh! Umm, sorry dude- that really was SO not professional. I really didn’t mean to say that-I’m not like hitting on you or making a pass or whatever I just kinda have an issue with the whole brain to mouth filter thing…the issue being I don’t really seem to_ _**have** _ _one. Or I do kinda but it malfunctions like 90% of the time. My mouth tends to run faster than I can keep up-like_ _way_ _faster…and the more flustered I get the more I talk which means the more random awkwardness comes out…which…uh…well…you get the idea._

_It’s a vicious cycle._

_Half the time I’m as surprised as everyone else as to what comes out…umm…anyways…hey…” He trailed off awkwardly, flushing, giving another adorably geeky wave._

_Magnus chuckled, waving him off, flashing a bright smile from him over to his partner shaking his head. His partner smiled back, tilting his head, eyebrow quirking, eyes flickering knowingly. The lighter haired man just flushed brighter, glancing away._

_“Quite alright darling, definitely not the worst thing I’ve been called. Magnus Bane, I’m the new transfer.”_

_He glanced back up, still blushing, giving a quick, animated nod._

_“Yeah, you’re Alec’s new partner…he told us about you transferring; and about your record, wow! Really great to have you here, I’m sure you’ll like it. And you’re really lucky too! I was partnered with Alec for the last two years, he trained me, you really can’t ask for a better partner.” He startled, quickly glancing over at the other man._

_“Though Kevin here is really awesome too.”_

_‘Kevin’ chuckled, shaking his head._

_“Simon dude, breathe …Alec is great. Though I think my training officer really is just as good.” he grinned,_

_“I May be a bit a tiny bias though.”_

_Simon snorted, rolling his eyes._

_“No, you’re just sucking up…”_

_Kevin laughed brightly, shrugging._

_“Eh, maybe a bit- doesn’t make it any less true.”_

_Alec chuckled, gesturing towards Kevin._

_“He’s got a point Simon …you really are doing great.”_

_He flushed, giving a beaming smile, ducking his head slightly._

_“Thanks Alec…”_

_“It’s just the truth.” Alec smiled once more before almost startling, glancing back at Magnus._

_“Oh sorry; Introductions. This is detective Simon Lewis and his new partner Kevin Teagan.”_

_Magnus chuckled, stepping forward to shake their hands. Kevin smiled, shaking his hand firmly, oddly bright eyes flickering, giving a knowing smile._

_“Hey, nice to meet you Magnus, really glad to have you on board, sure you’ll fit in perfectly here- it really is a very inclusive station.”_

_Magnus tilted his head, relaxing a bit at the realization he’ll at least have a few people here who he could be totally straight with. This could definitely help a lot. Plus if Alec already had one psychic partner he might not be as closed off to vague clues or ‘hunches’ as Magnus originally thought._

_He couldn’t tell what abilities the two men had- psychics generally couldn’t just automatically see what specifically someone was, more they just knew in the sense of like recognizing like.  Still this was a definite weight off him. Magnus felt a bit of the tension in his shoulders ease, returning the smile with a friendly nod._

_“So it would seem. Thanks so much for the warm welcome. How long have you two been partners?”_

_Kevin shrugged, bouncing lightly on his heels._

_“Just a bit over a month. I got promoted to detective last month and everything kinda just fell into place perfectly.  It seemed pretty daunting at first but it’s been really great. Simon’s been amazing as a training officer, I’ve already learned so much.”_

_Simon blushed lightly, shrugging,_

_“Thanks but I can’t take all the credit, I can just kind of give you pointers and hopefully help with a bit of advice. You’re the one actually doing it- that’s all you.” he paused glancing back at Magnus, reaching forward catching his hand in an enthusiastic shake._

_“Gotta admit, I was kinda disappointed at first I wouldn’t be partnered with Alec anymore but I think it’s all worked out for the best. Being partnered with Kev has been awesome and from what I saw of your record you’ll be a great asset here, and I know how much Alec was pushing to get you here so…umm…I-uh…I mean…” he trailed off, shooting an apologetic look Alec’s way,_

_Magnus grinned, quirking his eyebrow,_

_“Oh he was, hmm? Not a fan…”_

_Alec groaned, rolling his eyes, giving Simon a teasingly sarcastic look._

_“Thanks a lot Simon…”_

_“Sorry dude…” he said sheepishly._

_Kevin chuckled, quirking his eyebrow, impishly smirking. Alec chuckled, shaking his head, giving a playfully annoyed smirk._

_“Once again not a ‘fan’; I just recognize talent when I see it. You have a very impressive record and from a lot that I’ve seen on you it seemed like you’d be a great fit for our precinct.”_

_Magnus smirked with a flirtatious wink, eyes flickering over him again._

_“Sure…that’s what it is, keep telling yourself that. It’s alright gorgeous…think I’d be a pretty big fan of yours too.”_

_Alec huffed, rolling his eyes, cheeks coloring warmly._

_“I may already be regretting that.”_

_“Too late now. I warned you twice I’d drive you crazy, this was all your doing. You only have yourself to blame…”_

_Simon laughed, bouncing lightly on his heels, nudging Alec’s shoulder._

_“Hey I don’t know Magnus. You may have your work cut out for you on that one. Like I said he was partnered with me for two years. That’s a whole lot of practice dealing with craziness.”_

_Magnus chuckled, quirking his eyebrow._

_“Careful, that almost seems like a challenge…”_

_“Oh god…I am_ _**so** _ _gonna regret this.” Alec muttered, rubbing his temple exasperatedly._

_Kevin snickered, eyes bright and mischievous, winking playfully at Magnus._

_“Like I said it’ll be great having you here, we could do with a bit of extra excitement.”_

_Magnus chuckled, shrugging,_

_“Well I can definitely guarantee that.”_

_“Great…” Alec muttered,_

_Magnus chuckled again, patting his shoulder sympathetically, squeezing lightly, lingering a bit._

_Wow… **very** nice…_

_Okay…there might be a definite upside to this partner thing…_

_Wonder if in the two years they were partnered Simon had told him? If so it’d make it a hell of a lot easier. He’d have to find a subtle way of finding out…Maybe he could just drop a slight, subtle hint?_

_Yeah…that could work…_

_“So, w-” Magnus began but was interrupted by a quick wrap at the door, a young officer popping his head in, glancing around, eyes falling on Alec._

_“Hey there you are, sorry to interrupt but the chief was looking for you Alec, said it shouldn’t be too long…” he gave a slightly apologetic smile to the other three men and a quick wave._

_Alec nodded._

_“Thanks Phineas…” he paused, glancing over at Magnus, shrugging._

_“Sorry I s-”_

_Magnus waved him off with a playful grin._

_“It’s quite alright, I’ll wait here. He’ll want to get your honest first impressions, probably best if I’m not in there for that, just remember to talk me up.”_

_Alec chuckled, quirking his eyebrow, with a playful smirk._

_“Oh, he will, huh? And how do you know it’s that?”_

_Magnus grinned, shrugging, with a casually dismissive wave._

_“I’m psychic.”_

_Simon coughed, giving an overly loud almost startling, nervous laugh and a kind of flailing aborted gesture. Kevin widened his eyes, nudging the other man a bit too hard._

_Alec laughed, rolling his eyes._

_“Yeah sure, good one. I’ll go find Luke, see what he needs.”_

_Simon nodded quickly, waving him off._

_“Yeah, it’s fine Alec, take your time. We can show him around a bit, answer any questions he has. Just catch back up with us whenever you’re done with Luke.”_

_Alec nodded, flashing one more smile at Magnus._

_“Thanks guys, see you in a bit.”_

_“Remember to talk me up!” Magnus called after him._

_Alec chuckled, slipping out the door. Kevin smiled, nodding patiently, casually making his way over to the door, waiting for Alec to get most of the way down the hall before reaching over, quickly pushing the door to, flailing slightly towards Magnus._

_“What the hell man?”_

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“Hey, I wanted to see if he knew…it was the easiest way.”

 

Kevin sputtered.

 

“You DO know subtly is like, a _thing_ , right?”

 

Magnus laughed.

 

“Not generally my thing…”

 

Kevin rolled his eyes, gesturing towards him.

 

“Uh yeah, kinda got that…”

 

Simon blinked glancing between the two in confusion.

 

“Umm…did I miss something?”

 

Kevin nodded quickly, jerking his finger towards Magnus.

 

“He’s psychic too.”

 

Simon blinked.

 

“What?! He is? You are?”

 

Magnus tilted his head curiously.

 

“Yes…can’t you tell?”

 

Kevin sighed, shaking his head.

 

“He can’t, it’s kinda part of his abilities. A _really_ annoying part.”

 

Magnus blinked in surprise, glancing over at Simon.

 

“Hmm…that is rather unusual. Do you know why that is?”

 

Simon gave a sharp laugh and a kind of flailing wave, shaking his head.

 

“Dude I have no clue…I didn’t even know I **_was_** psychic myself till Kevin asked me about it after we were partnered up. He mentioned how relieved he was to be paired with someone who’d really ‘get’ him.  Only I had no clue about the psychic stuff so I thought he was talking about the whole gay thing, and I told him I definitely got what he meant and that Alec was too.

 

Then HE was confused cause he knew Alec wasn’t-psychic, not gay- at least he couldn’t sense it. So he asked what Alec was and I told him ‘gay’ and he rolled his eyes and said he knew that but what **_else_** ….and…yeah…it was a really long tangled conversation, especially when he asked about ‘abilities’ and I thought he was talking about…umm…something else that I really did NOT want to know about Alec- like at all.

 

He finally got fed up and said he meant what _psychic_ abilities we had and I really didn’t know what to say to that…”

 

Kevin chuckled, nodding.

 

“Yeah I think he was kinda trying to find a way to slowly back out of the room- though that could’ve started when he thought I was talking about other types of ‘abilities’ Alec had…pretty sure by that point he was REALLY regretting the whole partnership thing.”

 

Simon laughed, nodding emphatically.

 

“Oh dude yeah- big time. It was pretty crazy, though way better than when I thought you were asking about what kind of sexual abilities Alec might have cause..umm… _ugh_ …”

 

Magnus chuckled, smirking, holding his finger up to interject.

 

“Hey, I for one would be **_very_** interested in finding out those abilities.”

 

Simon blushed, rolling his eyes, shaking his head quickly.

 

“Yeah well you’re on your own with that one dude- We were partners but not THAT kind of ‘partners’…and by now I basically see Alec like a brother so once again, **_ugh..._**

 

But seriously Kev? I knew you less than an hour and you were asking me what kind of psychic abilities I had like it was the most normal thing in the world, it was just odd…. like **_really_** odd.”

 

Kevin laughed, quirking his eyebrow, glancing over at Simon.

 

“More odd than a twenty six year old who’s been psychic all his life never realizing it?”

 

Magnus chuckled, quirking his brow as well.

 

“You really had no clue?”

 

“Nope, not a one…”

 

“Wow…I’ve never heard of that…how d-”

 

Kevin shrugged.

 

“Like I said his inability to sense the rest of us is kinda part of his abilities. He can produce really strong mental shields. They protect him from any psychic attack- but they work so well that they actually block his own ability to sense the rest of us. He doesn’t do it purposefully; it’s a kind of reflex. He actually has to consciously work to put them down. We’ve made a bit of progress and if he concentrates he can get through them enough to sense us, but it’s not an automatic thing like with the rest of us.”

 

Magnus nodded.

 

“Ah, that make a bit more sense…also why he wouldn’t know about it. How can you know you have a protection from something you don’t know exists?”

 

Kevin nodded.

 

“Exactly…”

 

Magnus tilted his head, glancing curiously over at Simon.

 

“So that is your only ability? I’m not disparaging you sweetheart, just curious.”

 

Simon shook his head,

 

“No…not really. I always thought I was just naturally empathetic, but apparently I’m actually an empath- probably a pretty strong one if I can get through my own shields. Kev said that’s most likely a big part of why I can do the shield thing so well in the first place, so I don’t get lost in other people’s emotions.”

 

 Magnus smiled, giving a little nod.

 

“That does make sense…really quite fortunate too. I know being an empath can be very draining.”

 

Simon nodded.

 

That’s what Kev said…guess I did luck out. Hey, what about you?”

 

Magnus shrugged,

 

“I’m clairvoyant, with a touch of precognition. Though the clairvoyance I have total control over, the precog just kinda hits when it wants to…usually at quite inconvenient times.”

 

Simon’s eyes widened faintly, lightly bouncing.

 

“Wow, that’s awesome!”

 

Magnus chuckled, shrugging.

 

“It does have its moments.” he paused, glancing over at Kevin,

 

 “And you? What about you darling?”

 

Kevin shrugged,

 

“Not quite as impressive as you’re guys’s; I can Astro project. Not really the most fascinating, but it’s come in pretty handy a few times.”

 

“Yeah, I can see that…I mean it would be a good way to get a peek into a locked room or scope out a suspect without them seeing you. Even  allows you to check out something from clear across town or even across the country- definitely has its benefits.”

 

Kevin smiled brightly, giving a slight nod.

 

“It really does…though gotta admit pretty sure you and Simon have me beat in the ‘impressive psychic powers’ department.”

 

Magnus shook his head,

 

“Sweetheart it’s not a competition, I am just happy to have a few other people here that’ll understand where I’m coming from, maybe be able to help cover here and there when I get a clue that’s hard to explain?”

 

Kevin nodded, waving him off.

 

“Absolutely, whatever we can do. We’re all on the same team and the most important thing is just to solve the cases and protect the city. Also there’s one other psychic at the station and if it’s a competition Divya blows all three of us clear out of the water.”

 

Magnus quirked his eyebrow in interest.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Kevin nodded.

 

“Oh yeah, no contest. She’s a patrol officer right now but she’s studying for the detectives exam. She still has about a year before she can take it but when she does she’s dead set on getting a perfect score- and I have no doubt in my mind she will.”

 

Magnus laughed.

 

“Sounds quite impressive, what’s her ability? Telepathy, precognition, divination?”

 

Kevin chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“Nope; Pyrokenisis and telekinesis…”

 

Magnus blinked, swallowing nervously, holding up a finger.

 

“Remind me never to piss her off…”

 

Kevin laughed, winking,

 

“Good idea…It takes a lot, but yeah, always best to stay on her good side.”

 

Magnus shook his head faintly, giving a bit of a laugh, relaxing against one of the shelves, just kind of taking it all in,

 

_Wow…so…okay…on the one hand he had a partner here…he’d never had to work with a partner and that seemed like a disaster waiting to happen, no matter how pretty said partners eyes or smile were._

 

But on the other hand there were three other psychics here at the station…

 

_THREE!_

 

That meant that there were three other people who would get where he was coming from- _really_ get it. Three people who would understand when he said something was ‘complicated’ or when he couldn’t immediately produce an answer for how he came up with a solution.

 

Three people who could help cover and back him up so it’s not just him having the crazy tips. People he could back too. And yeah, Alec was practical but if he’s been working at a station with three psychics he has to be at least slightly accustomed to odd happenings and random leaps of faith.

 

He might be more open to unorthodox methods than Magnus originally thought…

 

Alright Magnus was a realist…but he always prided himself on his ability to think on his feet. The partner thing would be complicated. Partnerships required trust. They required honesty.

_And that was the thing…_

 

_He could not be honest with Alec, not totally..._

_At least not yet…_

_But maybe he could split the difference…be as honest with him as possible, feel him out, get an idea where he stood, where his ‘weird, kooky’ line was, maybe ease him as close to the truth as possible. It might take some fancy footwork and a bit (or a lot) of effort on his part, but maybe…_

_Maybe this could work after all…_

 

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, poor Magnus doesn’t stand a chance….
> 
> This is gonna be a really fun partnership to work with.
> 
> Next part we’ll have Magnus meeting a few other members of the SPBD, and getting a bit of a surprise.
> 
>  
> 
> I already like Simon and Kevin as partners- that’ll be fun, and of course Divya is awesome…(When possible I’m trying to keep powers- in verses where they are applicable- the same)
> 
>  
> 
> So what do you guys think so far?


	3. Switch in Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now we get a glimpse of Alec’s thoughts on his new partner. And Magnus tells Kevin and Simon about his usual backup…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #  _ 💛💛Chapter Complete!💛💛 _

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##  _*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*_

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_‘I’m psychic’…_

_Cute…_

Alec chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he made his way to Luke’s office. Magnus really was something else. Having him here would certainly shake things up. Admittedly Alec hadn’t really been sure what to expect from him but even so, this guy was a total surprise.

 

He’d expected the cockiness, and looking at his citations a fair bit of reckless impulsiveness. Those he was right on the money but that was about all he had right.

 

He’d assumed Magnus would be pretty pissed after Alec’s whole deception thing, expecting to get the cold shoulder or even a bit of outright hostility- _(Again back to the citations, they were about an even split between reckless behavior and blatant disregard for authority)._ Clearly the guy had no issue speaking his mind regardless of whether the person outranked him or not. If he thought you were in the wrong he’d damn well let you know and Alec knew the route he took was more than a bit underhanded. Still it was the only option he could think of, and it DID work.

     

Nonetheless he expected some fallout. He was totally off the mark there. Magnus was kinda huffy for a few moments but he seemed more annoyed about _being_ played than about someone actually playing him. Which was pretty interesting.

 

Okay…so…admittedly there was a LOT that was pretty interesting about Magnus.  He was very clever -that much Alec expected. Most everything he read about Magnus showed he was absolutely brilliant. Alec expected the cleverness and the challenge, but the charm, wit and playfulness was totally out of left field.

 

Honestly he’d half wondered if this was the right guy or if there had been some kind of switch/prank/mix-up kinda thing. When they’d left Luke’s office he’d given Magnus a bit of time to cool down and settle in but it also gave him time to pull up Magnus’s file photo from his patrol days, just to be sure it was the right guy.

 

It was the same guy alright ( _Also **damn** did he look good in a uniform…)_

 

Okay…so…t-this may be a slight complication. He thought he’d prepared for every eventuality, every possible hiccup. Going in he figured there’d be tension, an adjustment period, animosity, a clash of investigation styles, all of that. Somehow it never occurred to him he might be attracted to the guy.

 

Or that the guy would be a HUGE flirt, drop dead gorgeous and kinda tick every last box he had. Every box and then some… _geez_ …

 

Crap…

 

He really didn’t see this coming.

 

_Why had it never occurred to him to just glance at the guy’s picture?!_

Not that his appearance would have had an impact on Alec’s insistence on him joining the SBPD but at least then he’d of been somewhat prepared for when the hottest guy he’d ever seen just strolled into Luke’s office; all sass, snark and challenge.

 

_Again **damn…**_

Even if he did think to look at a picture there still wasn’t any way to prepare for all the rest of it. Everything he’d read about the guy spoke of a dogged, reckless, dedicated detective who’d do most anything to solve a case. Alec figured he’d be serious, driven, no nonsense- basically Alec, just with more disregard for rules and authority.

 

_Wow was he off there._

 

Magnus was nothing like he expected…but in the best possible way.

 

He was fun, flirty, playful, and exciting- all in all WAY too appealing. Add in everything Alec knew about his case record, the already addicting confrontational streak, the way his deep brown eyes sparked at a challenge, how he seemed to run at any problem head on, and the fact that Magnus was hands down the most beautiful person Alec had ever seen and…

 

_Uh…yeah…_

He may be in trouble.

 

Crap…

 

Alec was a professional through and through. He had a strict policy of keeping his work and professional lives separate. Those get mixed up and things get really complicated, REALLY quick. If you start something with someone at work and it ends or there are issues it could cause tension in the station, could even derail your entire career. When that person is your partner that’s a whole other can of worms. In a partnership you needed to be able to trust the other person had your back; and yeah, admittedly a relationship could boost that- if it worked out. But if it didn’t? That’s just a disaster waiting to happen. It wasn’t worth it…it never had been.

 

Of course he’d never had a partner like Magnus.

 

His partnerships had always been training type partnerships. Typically he was paired with newer officers like Simon. Alec was their mentor; showing them the ropes, helping them adjust to the changes from being patrol officers to detectives, helping them gain confidence in their own abilities. There was always a very clear dynamic in these partnerships, one that he would never even think of turning into anything more than a friendship.

 

Just the thought of it made him feel uncomfortable. Even if any of them had been his type or there was attraction he’d never think of actually acting on it. It would be too much like taking advantage.

 

With Magnus that was most definitely NOT the case.

 

Magnus knew exactly what he was doing. They were on equal ground. Alec wasn’t training him- maybe trying to corral him a bit, but he wasn’t a mentor. Clearly Magnus wasn’t in any way intimidated by him. That was obvious from the very first meeting; striding in, meeting his gaze head on, blatantly calling Alec out on the perceived slight.

 

_T-that was…umm…_

A-anyways this was a totally different dynamic than he was used to. Actually this’ll probably be just as new of experience for him as it was for Magnus. He wasn’t used to working with a partner who was _just_ a partner- not a Mentor or  Mentee and Magnus wasn’t used to working with a partner period.

 

Clearly it would be an adjustment for both of them, but he really did think it was a good match.

 

_At least he did…_

 

Then he actually met the man and realized Magnus was a freaking fantasy come to life. He really was starting to wonder how this would work out. It could either be really good, or REALLY bad.

 

Every instinct he had said their partnership itself was a smart move. Their skill sets balanced each other perfectly. They were both professionals, had around a decade of experience and took their jobs quite seriously. It was clear they both had strong personalities but that was good- once again it meant they’d be on equal ground when it came to the partnership.

 

The partnership made perfect sense. A professional relationship made perfect sense. Keeping your professional and personal lives totally separate made perfect sense.

 

It was all quite logical…On paper it all made total sense.

 

That was always Alec’s strong suit: logical, rational, professional. That was usually Alec personified. However he had a feeling logic, rationale and professionalism could go out the window real fast where Magnus was concerned.

 

He’d always swore he’d never pursue someone at work. It was one of the least professional things you could do, a sure way to damage your professional reputation and a near guarantee your love life would end up the hot gossip around the station _(He swears cops could give teenagers a run for their money where that was concerned)._ It was a headache with a minuscule possibility of working out and a near guarantee of drama, awkwardness and complications. It was a minefield and it’d just flat out never been worth the trouble.

 

_And Magnus was most definitely trouble…_

_But hell if he didn’t seem worth it._

Especially with that sexy, impish little smirk, challenging spark, and the flirty banter.

 

_Mmm…_

The guy was a total rush…he really did seem to push every last button Alec had…Hell, a couple he didn’t even _know_ he had.

 

He’d never really given a thought either way to a guy wearing makeup or jewelry, but on Magnus…damn…

 

_Yeah that apparently was **definitely** a ‘thing’ for him._

Alec sighed, shaking his head, trying to clear his swirling thoughts. He was nearly to Luke’s office, and Magnus was kind of right. Luke probably did want to talk about the new partnership…but it was a bit more than just getting his initial thoughts on the guy. Luke was smart, he knew Alec very well. They’d been close friends for years. He knew Alec. Or more specifically he knew how to _read_ Alec.

 

Meaning he probably picked up on Alec’s less than professional reaction to the pretty, flirty, far too enthralling man right off the bat.

 

_So this wasn’t gonna be awkward at all…_

He sighed again, rolling his eyes at himself, mentally preparing for the awkwardness that he was walking into. The door was open, Luke sitting at his desk, idly flipping through a file. Alec knocked lightly at the door frame.

 

“Hey, Phineas said you wanted to see me?”

 

Luke glanced up, flashing a quick smile, waving him in. Alec moved into the office, pulling the door behind him automatically.

 

“Yeah, thanks for coming back. Where’s Magnus?”

 

“No problem. He’s with Simon and Kevin, they were gonna show him around a bit.”

 

Luke nodded, leaning back,

 

“That’s good…”

 

Alec nodded awkwardly.

 

“Yup…it is…”

 

Luke sighed, rolling his eyes, giving a slightly sarcastic look.

 

“Alec, let’s not beat around the bush, you know what this is about.”

 

He groaned, nodding.

 

“Yeah I do…doesn’t make it any less awkward.”

 

Luke chuckled, shrugging.

 

“True…so, cards on the table; do you think this is going to be an issue?”

 

Alec sighed with a somewhat flippant wave.

 

“Honestly? I don’t know. I really didn’t see it coming. I figured there’d be issues, complications…I just didn’t think this would be one of them. It had never even occurred to me.”

 

Luke quirked his eyebrow.

 

“Really, not even once?”

 

Alec huffed, shrugging, shaking his head.

 

“No…I mean, I did know he was kind of flamboyant. I knew he was something other than straight, or at least he didn’t seem entirely straight. Last time I talked to Hodge he’d been fuming about the ‘flouncy, prissy, showboat’ of a detective totally disobeying his orders. Though I kind of thought the guy may have just been playing that up to piss Hodge off- can’t say I’d blame him for that. Hodge is a good detective but can be a bigoted jackass where that’s concerned- part of the reason I’ve never came out to him.

 

Even so it didn’t occur to me. I mean just because we’re both interested in guys doesn’t mean we’d automatically be into each other. I guess I should have thought about it- but…I don’t know…it’s work. ‘Personal’ doesn’t factor in. Anything personal is irrelevant.

 

It cannot be a factor.

 

The guy is a great detective, with a record beyond reproach. He’s smart, tenacious, and driven. Yes he’s reckless and as of yet has been unwilling to work with a partner, but I really do think he’ll be an asset to this department. And he DID agree to the partnership, so that’s something.”

 

Luke gave a bit of a laugh.

 

“Yeah…agreeing to the partnership is a good thing- the ‘why’ he agreed is where it gets kind of tricky.”

 

Alec shrugged,

 

“The ‘Why’ is irrelevant. He agreed to work with a partner; meaning he’ll have someone watching his back.”

 

Luke scoffed, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“His ‘back’, huh?”

 

Alec sputtered, blushing brilliantly, giving an annoyed, slightly exaggerated, huff.

 

“Luke! Come on, you know I’m not like that.”

 

“Not usually…”

 

Alec shook his head.

 

“Not at all. Look, I admit, the guys hot…and kind of insanely appealing. But he’s my partner- that takes precedence over anything else. Yeah, there’s attraction, no question, but first and foremost he is my partner. Having him at this precinct is a good thing- I think it is the best option for him, for me, and for our entire department. In addition to that he moved clear across country for this job, uprooted his entire life. He has a lot riding on this working out. I wouldn’t put that in jeopardy just because I think someone is hot and kind of exciting. It’s not worth the risk.”

 

Luke tilted his head, eyes flickering over Alec, before giving a slight shrug.

 

“Okay…I’ll take your word for it. On one condition; if at some time you decide it **_is_** worth it you need to let me know up front.”

 

Alec shook his head quickly.

 

“Luke it w-”

 

He held up his hand, cutting off the protests.

 

“Alec, stop. I’m not saying it’s gonna happen. You two just met, initial attraction isn’t an absolute. Just because you think someone’s hot it doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to act on it. I know you. I know how much you value your professionalism, reputation and career and I know you wouldn’t risk all that just for a fling or quick thrill.

 

Which means I know if you genuinely get to thinking it’s worth the risk it’s gotta be something real.

 

I’m your boss, but we’ve been friends for years. I’d hate for you to pass up something like that just because you’re worried about how it would affect your work. So again; I’m not saying it will happen, I’m just saying if it does keep me in the loop so I can help minimize issues, that’s it, alright?”

 

Alec blinked in surprise, chuckling faintly.

 

“Think you’re jumping ahead quite a bit there; all I said was the guy was hot and kind of exciting.”

 

Luke chuckled, shrugging unconcerned, quirking his eyebrow,

 

“Has to start somewhere right? Sounds like a pretty good start to me.”

 

Alec laughed again,

 

“Okay…I thought you were calling me in here to hammer into me to keep it professional- now I think you may be playing matchmaker. Gotta say was not expecting that.”

 

Luke chuckled, shaking his head,

 

“I wouldn’t say ‘matchmaker’, I’m just realistic. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, just that it’s a possibility.”

 

Alec rolled his eyes.

 

“It’s n-”

 

“Alec? I was here, I saw the whole meeting. If you’re saying it’s an impossibility then you’re in denial.”

 

“I…” he trailed off, shrugging,

 

“Fine…if it happens- I’m not saying it will- but if it does, I’ll let you know…So…are we good here?”

 

Luke smiled, nodding, waving him towards the door.

 

“Yeah, we’re good. Go find your new partner.”

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow, but finally shrugged,

 

“Okay then…well…I-I’ll just go do that.”

 

Luke nodded, turning his focus back to the folder on his desk, pretty much dismissing him. Alec blinked before turning back to the door, shaking his head in confusion, slipping out of the office.

 

Luke chuckled lightly at the reaction. Poor Alec really did look totally confused by the whole conversation. Should probably get used to it. He had a feeling that might become the man’s default expression pretty soon.

 

It was one thing when he was partnered with Simon- the kid never even knew about his psychic abilities until Kevin had broached the subject. This ‘Magnus’ was another matter entirely.

 

Having five psychics in the same precinct seemed a bit much but it was the right move all around. No question this is where they all belonged, he could see it plain as day. This was how it was meant to be…though he was rather interested in seeing how it actually played out.

_Man…_

_An intuitive Astro projector, a shield producing empath, a psi-blocking seer, a pyrokinetic/telekinetic and now A slightly precognitive clairvoyant…_

_VERY interesting indeed._

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##  _*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*_

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 “This is just unbelievable.” Magnus chuckled, shaking his head in amazement, glancing over the other two detectives.

 

Simon tilted his head curiously.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Magnus shrugged,

 

“Nothing it’s just I’ve been on the force for nearly a decade, I haven’t met a single other psychic in law enforcement. In this one precinct there are three. It just seems too good to be true.”

 

Kevin chuckled, giving a slight nod.

 

“I know…I thought the same thing when I met Simon and Divya. Maybe it’s something with California? Or at least Southern California. Some kind of specific draw for psychics maybe? Like an electromagnetic field or pull or whatever or if it’s just that the whole state kinda seems to be a beacon for the odd, unique and eccentric- which does generally describe psychics - but it’s something.

 

From what I’ve been able to tell this city seems to have an unusually high number of psychics, like a lot more. Not that there’s any actual statistics on it or anything, just what I’ve seen over the years but growing up my dad was in the military and we moved a kind of ridiculous amount. I’ve met more psychics in this city in the last two years than in all the other place I’ve lived combined…and that’s saying a lot.” He tilted his head, looking over Magnus.

 

“Can I ask what made you decide on this precinct? I mean we’ve seen your stats; you could’ve gone anywhere, had to have dozens of offers. What made you choose the SBPD?”

 

Magnus blinked, giving a slight shrug, automatically starting the usual flippant deflection before pausing, remembering he didn’t have to do that with these two, shrugging.

 

“You know, I’m not really sure, just felt like the right decision. I did like the fact it was clear across the country. I’d kinda had a few close calls at my old precinct, think I stayed there too long. I was starting to get odd looks, hear a couple whispers…nothing big, but enough that I knew it was well past time to move. Figured moving this far would all but ensure I didn’t have any of the rumors or the like tagging along.”

 

Kevin smiled, nodding understandingly.

 

“Yeah I get that- had a couple close ones myself, at least here we’ll have some back up on those kinds of things, people to help cover.”

 

Magnus nodded, chuckling.

 

“Well I did have that, still do in fact; they’re just not on the force. My two best friends Raphael and Clarissa actually picked up and moved out here with me. At least I know why they decided to move here. They’re loyal to a fault…also Raph seems of the impression I’m a walking trouble magnet cleverly disguised as a detective. He’s pretty sure if he’s not there to watch my back I’d be done for. Frankly I think he’s over estimating - I’ve only known him for seven years, I got along fine before that, and I’ve saved his ass just as often as he’s saved mine.”

 

Simon blinked in surprise.

 

“Wow I’d say that’s pretty loyal. I can’t imagine picking up everything to change coasts just to look out for a buddy…” he paused, looking a bit nervous.

 

“Uh… so…trouble magnet…should I be worried? Don’t take this the wrong way but Alec’s one of my best friends and I j-”

 

Magnus chuckled, waving him off.

 

“No I understand, but it really is fine. I’m not a trouble magnet- just a detective. Dangerous, somewhat risky situations are kind of to be expected. He’s just not really used to the whole ‘law and order’ thing. Plus he’s somewhat of a distrusting, jaded, grump. I love the guy but he has a tendency to see the worst in everything.”

 

Simon scoffed, quirking his eyebrow sarcastically.

 

“Wow…sounds charming.”

 

Magnus laughed, shrugging.

 

 “You’d be surprised.”

 

Kevin chuckled, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Well if anything he sounds very interesting. And I take it from what you said he helps you on cases? What does he do? Is he a profiler or tech o…”

 

Magnus gave a sharp laugh, shaking his head quickly.

 

“Oh god no. Nothing even remotely like that. He runs a night club- Chaos, he’s opening a second location here, the one in Brooklyn’s a huge hit…though with Raph it’s no surprise, this one will be too…there’s no way it couldn’t be.”

 

Kevin tilted his head.

 

“How so? Clubs are a pretty risky business, and they kinda put you in touch with some shady people…it’s always a gamble and honestly could be pretty dangerous.”

 

Magnus snorted, shaking his head.

 

“Not for Raphael.”

 

Simon blinked.

 

“Well that doesn’t sound totally ominous or anything…”

 

Magnus chuckled, shrugging.

 

“Raph’s a Psi Vampire.”

 

Simon blinked some more.

 

“Umm…y-yeah…I’m new to this whole psychic ‘thing’, I don’t know what that is…but it doesn’t sound good.” he glanced over at Kevin.

 

“That’s not good right?”

 

Kevin shook his head quickly, paling a little.

 

“No…no it’s really not.”

 

Magnus chuckled, placatingly holding his hands up.

 

“Guys it’s not anywhere near as bad as you think.”

 

Kevin scoffed disbelievingly.

 

“Uh, don’t they like feed on people- or their energy or chi or whatever? Like they can actually drain people entirely, killing them?”

 

“Well yes b-”

 

Simon flailed, looking between the two, eyes wide.

 

_How is that not bad?”_

Magnus sighed.

 

“Admittedly it’s not ideal, but it’s also not something he has any kind of a choice in. If he doesn’t feed he’s weak, shaky, lethargic…eventually he’d shut down entirely. He needs the energy just as much as food, water or sleep.

 

He cannot function without it.

 

And true if they drain too much energy from one source it could end up killing them but Raphael has total control over his feeding- has for nearly two decades. Actually that’s why he has the club. That many people packed in, all the energy and emotions swirling, it actually allows him to absorb far more energy than he could any other way. He’s probably the most powerful psi-vamp in existence at this point. Over the years we’ve ran into more than a few, none of them even come close to the level of power he has. Though that’s probably because the psi-vamp abilities tie in so perfectly with his other abilities.”

 

Simon gulped.

 

“O-other abilities?”

 

Magnus nodded.

 

“Yes, Raphael has quite strong hypnotic and suggestion abilities- I don’t want to specifically say ‘mind control’ as that tends to put people on edge but that’s probably the closest to an actual term. He is extremely magnetic, can totally enthrall people with little more than a look or a few words, it really is something else.”

 

Now both of them were staring somewhat wide eyed.

 

“Umm….”

 

Simon nodded, jabbing his finger towards Kevin.

 

“Yeah, what he said.”

 

Magnus chuckled, holding his hands up again, shaking his head.

 

“Guys I know what it sounds like-”

 

_“It sounds like you’re back up is a freaking supervillian!”_

Magnus rolled his eyes.

 

“Simon it’s n-”

 

“Uh uh, don’t even try that- I’m a nerd; I know comics okay? A brooding, mind controlling, vampire is a supervillian… _He even has a freaking lair!_ ”

 

“Club…”

 

“Same thing!”

 

Kevin nodded quickly,

 

“How did you ever even end up meeting this guy?”

 

Magnus faltered, nervously shifting.

 

“I-umm…I kind of arrested him? But the charges didn’t stick so technically he doesn’t have an actual record.”

 

Simon quirked his eyebrow.

 

“They didn’t stick because he wasn’t guilty or because he used his powers to get out of it?”

 

It was Magnus’s turn to blink.

 

“Umm…”

 

Simon made a slightly squeaking sound, flailing again.

 

**_“Seriously?!”_ **

****

Magnus groaned, shaking his head.

 

“It’s complicated, okay?”

 

“Uh no, not okay! Not even a little okay! You basically just said the dude’s a criminal- You are a detective...what’s complicated about that?”

 

Magnus sighed.

 

“I am a detective, but I’m also a psychic, and I get it.” He shook his head, glancing over at Kevin, shrugging.

 

“You’ve dealt with this longer than him; you have to at least kind of understand. Like I said, I haven’t found other psychics in law enforcement- but I’ve run into a hell of a lot of them on the other side of the law. They’re not all necessarily bad people. Many are just jaded, scared or flat out don’t see another way. Being psychic is technically genetic but is quite rare- like a recessive gene. It’s not unusual for it to skip several generations before popping back up.” He sighed, looking over at Simon, meeting his eyes.

 

“I know you’re new to this…that actually makes you pretty damn lucky. You just found out you’re psychic. You’re a twenty six year old adult. You have your head on straight, know who you are, what you want to do. Your world view is pretty well set. For most of us abilities start up sometime between the ages of six and thirteen. You have no idea how hard it is trying to get a handle on potentially dangerous psychic abilities when you’re at an age where your biggest concern should be what Power Ranger is your favorite or who you’re gonna sit with at lunch.

 

You don’t know what’s going on and the rest of the world thinks that we don’t even exist- that we’re playing a game or just have an active imagination.  Generally even our own family doesn’t believe it when we try to tell them, and if you prove your abilities to someone and you misjudged what kind of person they are it can get so much worse SO quickly.

 

It is hard, and complicated, and so very isolating. You’re figuring it out all on your own. You cannot just ask others for help controlling or regulating your abilities. You can spend years- _decades_ even thinking that it is literally only you; that you’re just some kind of oddity or freak of nature.

 

Growing up like that it is easy to understand someone deciding to use their natural abilities to make their lives easier, or even just as a way to survive, to get out of a seemingly impossible situation. That’s how it was for Raphael.

 

 He cannot go without the psi-feeding- he will die, flat out. It is as much of a necessity for him as food or oxygen, there’s no way around it. He found a way he could feed without it being a danger to anyone. He did that all on his own- had less than no help with it…

 

Hell, _worse_ than no help.” He paused, eyes flashing angrily, before he took a deep breath, shaking the familiar anger off, glancing back at the detectives, giving a slight shrug, continuing.

 

“The manipulating abilities and enthralling didn’t develop till later. He had no clue what was going on and it absolutely terrified him. He learned how to control them quickly because he **_had_** to. Losing control of those kinds of abilities would be a disaster, for all concerned.

 

Yes, in truth he has used his abilities in less than lawful ways in the past, but only when it was absolutely necessary, when he didn’t have any other way. Honestly given what he could do, his upbringing, and everything he has faced up to this point it really is a miracle he _didn’t_ turn out to be an actual supervillian.” He shrugged again, giving a slight wave, glancing back at the two younger detectives.

 

And again with the blinking…

 

Kevin giving an empathetic nod, eyes softening.

 

_Yeah, he got it…_

 

Magnus uncoiled a bit, trying to relax, get off the defensive. He never could help it when it came to Raph…

 

_The boy needed someone to look out for him._

 

Simon swallowed, clearly at a loss as to what to say to that, giving a falsely lackadaisical shrug, casually folding his arms, nodding.

 

“S-so…umm…what about your other friend?”

 

Magnus couldn’t help a slight, surprised chuckle at the awkward subject change-

 

_The kid really was adorable._

He smiled, nodding.

 

“Clarissa? Oh she’s nowhere near as scary as Raph.”

 

Both men breathed a sigh of relief, noticeably relaxing. Kevin nodded, tilting his head curiously.

 

“That’s good…so what does she do?”

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“Oh she’s a medium; she owns an occult shop over on 4th street.”

 

Simon groaned, rubbing at his temples.

 

“Oh man…in what universe is a ghost whisperer/occultist the LESS scary option?”

 

Magnus grinned, patting his shoulder, squeezing companionably.

 

“The psychic one…welcome.”

 

Simon rolled his eyes, glancing over, giving a sarcastic smile that rivaled Raphael’s.

 

“Gee…thanks.”

 

Magnus blinked in surprise, a bit of a flicker of something hitting him before giving a bright laugh, squeezing Simon’s shoulder with a playfully impish, considering grin.

 

“Think I am going to have to introduce you and Raph. I have a feeling you’d get on famously.”

 

Simon snorted, shaking his head.

 

“I have a feeling you’re either delusional or have been drinking something a hell of a lot stronger than coffee this morning.”

 

Magnus chuckled, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Hey…I **_am_** psychic…”

 

Simon folded his arms, giving a thoroughly unimpressed look.

 

“So is literally everyone else in this room.”

 

Magnus snorted.

 

_Oh wow…yeah he loves it here…forced partnership or not this was definitely the place for him._

“Hey guys, still in here huh? Didn’t make it too far on the tour…” Alec chuckled slipping back into the room, glancing between the three, lingering on Magnus giving a slight shrug and a brilliant smile.

 

_Mmm…partner being sinfully hot definitely didn’t hurt matters…_

Magnus smiled, slipping closer.

 

“Got everything sorted with Luke? You talked me up, right?”

 

Alec chuckled, nodding.

 

“Yeah, we’re good. Since we don’t have a case yet today if it’s okay with you I’d like to go around to a few places, let you meet a couple of my contacts, kind of help you get a feel for the city.”

 

 Magnus shrugged.

 

“Sure, sounds good- you can introduce me to your contacts and I’ll introduce you to mine.”

 

Alec blinked giving a surprised laugh, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Your contacts? Haven’t you only been in town for like a day or two?”

 

Magnus smirked, giving a playful wink.

 

“What can I say? I work fast.” He paused, glancing back at Simon and Kevin, giving a quick, fluttering wave and a bright smile.

 

“It was great meeting you guys, really looking forward to working together.”

 

Kevin laughed, shaking his head, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Definitely gonna be interesting.”

 

Magnus flashed a quick wink.

 

“Interesting’s my specialty.”

 

Simon snorted.

 

“That’s putting it mildly…”

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow, glancing between the three, settling on Simon.

 

“Uh…d-did I miss something?”

 

Simon sighed, giving a slightly flailing wave.

 

“Oh yeah… but trust me explaining wouldn’t make it any less confusing.”

 

Kevin chuckled, shaking his head, nudging Simon’s shoulder before flashing a quick smile, waving Alec off.

 

“Dude it’s fine, just the usual weirdness that is the SBPD. Magnus’ll fit in perfectly here.” he paused, glancing over at Simon before looking back at Magnus, eyes sparking bright with mischief.

 

“Hey, maybe we can all get together after our shifts, have a drink, catch up on the day? Think Magnus was saying he knew a place…”

 

Simon sputtered, flailing animatedly, glaring at his partner. Magnus beamed, giving a bright laugh.

 

“I do! Perfect idea darling. It doesn’t open till nine, and I do tend to like to make an entrance…plus with it being opening night best to wait about an hour, let things get underway. How about we all meet up at ten?”

 

Kevin nodded, giving a bright smile.

 

“Prefect, Alec has our numbers; you can get ours when you get his.”

 

Magnus nodded.

 

“Wonderful, can’t wait.”

 

Simon snorted.

 

“I can…” he mumbled.

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow, glancing curiously from Magnus over to Kevin in confusion. Magnus just waved him off, reaching over, squeezing Alec’s arm, lingering slightly.

 

“Come along gorgeous, I’ll explain everything in the car.”

 

Alec blushed faintly, glancing once more between the younger detectives in confusion before sending a slightly apologetic shrug and sympathetic smile Simon’s way.

 

“Oookay…umm…well, see you guys later…good luck Simon, whatever this is…seems like that may be needed.”

 

Simon nodded quickly still glaring pointedly at Kevin.

 

“It is.”

 

Kevin rolled his eyes.

 

“No it isn’t.”

 

“Is too!”

 

“I-”

 

“Aaannd on that oh so mature note we’re just gonna head out. Bye guys, see you tonight.” Magnus cut in with a chuckle and a last twinkling little wave, catching Alec’s arm, tugging him out of the room, making a beeline for the door of the precinct, a bit of a bounce in his step, chuckling again at the animatedly sniping partners.

 

_Okay he may not know what compelled him to choose this precinct but right now it didn’t matter;_

_He had a gorgeous partner, THREE other psychics to work with, his two best friends close at hand and an adorably snarky, flailing empath to introduce to Raphael…_

_Yeah…whatever it was he was grateful for it…_

_This was definitely the place for him._

#  _*__ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ __*__ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ __*_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I love Luke…his is gonna be SO much fun in this verse._
> 
> _I know Kevin jumped on the Simon/Raphael bandwagon pretty quick but I do have an explanation for the quick turnaround…you’ll just have to keep reading to find out._
> 
> _I absolutely adore snarky Simon…he’s SO much fun! He’ll definitely be a match for Raphael._
> 
> _So…what do you guys think so far?_


	4. It’s All About Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> # 💛💛Chapter Complete!!💛💛
> 
>  

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

_Unbelievable…_

_Some ‘partner’ he is…_

_He totally takes back every last nice thing he ever said about Kevin_

_Seriously h-_

Kevin glanced over from the passenger seat, mouth quirking into a smile.

 

“Oh come on Simon, don’t sulk.”

 

He flailed, turning slightly in the seat to face him, sputtering.

 

“Sulk!? I’m not ‘sulking’ I’m fuming- Big difference!”

 

Kevin gave a small laugh, rolling his eyes.

 

“Simon, it’s really not that ba-”

 

 _“Not that bad?_ You’re plotting to set me up with a freaking Vampire! A mind controlling, **_criminal,_** vampire- what part of that is not bad?”

 

He shook his head, holding up a hand placatingly.

 

“Alright first off I’m not ‘plotting’- I don’t ‘plot’-”

 

Simon snorted, shooting him yet another sarcastic look before turning back to the road. Kevin chuckled with a slightly conceding shrug.

 

“Okay I plot a little, but this isn’t that. And I’m not ‘setting you up’ with him- that’s Magnus- I just want you to meet the guy. Think of it as a learning experience. So far pretty much the only psychics you’ve met or spent any amount of time with are me, Divya and now Magnus. That’s a pretty narrow view of the psychic population. Magnus was right about one thing- very few psychics end up on our side of the law.

 

It’s not that they’re ‘bad’ people; growing up psychic is an unbelievably tough road. They had no say in what abilities they got, when they manifest or how they manifested and the only way to learn to control them is basically trial and error. Trying to figure that out- on top of all the other ‘normal’ drama of growing up and finding where you fit in the world? It’s no mystery why many psychics end up on the wrong path. Especially when you factor in how relatively rare psychic abilities are.

 

You grow up thinking you’re some kind of freak- that you’re the only person in the world who has this ability and yeah that could seem cool, almost superhero like, but for most, especially at THAT age? All you want to do is fit in, to be normal. And that just straight up does not happen, and you know it never really will.

 

Growing up feeling like you don’t fit…it’s very easy to slip, to lose your way, fall into bad habits or bad company, it’s just very easy to stray. And that’s just with ‘normal’ Psychic powers. There are some utterly terrifying powers out there- this Raphael dude got pretty much the scariest one I can imagine. I would not wish that on anyone.

 

Seriously, can you imagine being a kid and learning that you have to steal energy from others- basically feed on them- just to survive? That your only choices are feed on others or die?

 

That’s terrifying- for anyone. And the way Magnus talked his powers came in pretty early. No kid should have to deal with that. As if that’s not enough to deal with by the sound of it he had even more obstacles to overcome. And that’s not even counting suddenly being able to manipulate and enthrall people. 

 

I mean, yeah that sounds terrifying and evil…and if someone’s purposefully training themselves to do that then yeah, _totally_ supervillian territory right there. But he wasn’t training himself to do this, he just suddenly could. Think about how it would be if you just all of a sudden had this power over others? Trying to learn how to control that? How many times it backfired or resulted in creepily obsessed stalker type situations?

 

That is a LOT for someone to face.”

 

Simon blinked, swallowing, shaking his head with a low whistle.

 

“Damn…yeah…t-that’s a lot…I couldn’t even imagine trying to deal with all of that- not even **_now_** , let alone as a kid. No wonder the guy’s so grumpy and jaded. Hell, I’d want to just hide away from everyone…”

 

Kevin glanced over, nodding.

 

“Exactly… only you couldn’t even do that cause of the psi vamp thing. Look, I’m not playing matchmaker- though fair warning that totally seems to be Magnus’s goal here, and I get the feeling subtly is not the dude’s strong suit-”

 

Simon snorted, nodding emphatically. Kevin chuckled, continuing.

 

 “I just think it’d be really good for you to see this kind of perspective, that’s all. I mean I’ve told you about growing up but I was insanely lucky. I had an unbelievably supportive family and my great aunt had abilities that were fairly well known to the family. I could talk to them about it- they didn’t dismiss me or tell me I was imagining things. And yeah technically I had to learn on my own how to control my abilities but they tried to help in any way they could and I could always go to them if something seemed too much. Very few psychics have that.

 

Divya’s story’s far closer to the ‘normal’ psychic experience. She learned to control her abilities all on her own, none of her family ever found out about it and to this day her brother still thinks some creepy stalker was setting fires trying to get her attention. And even her story is one of the more positive I’ve heard. She had a good family life, a good, stable home life, people who loved and supported her. Honestly that’s pretty much the exception to the rule.

 

It sounds like that Raphael dude was dealt a really bad hand but he made it through, turned it around and found ways to survive without being a danger to others- even when he has two of arguably the most dangerous, terrifying abilities there are…that’s pretty big.”

 

Simon sighed, giving a conceding nod.

 

“That’s true. It would be pretty interesting to meet the guy, and you’re right it is a perspective I haven’t had a chance to see. I genuinely would like to learn about other psychics and get the chance to understand more about all this.

 

Before I met you my knowledge of ‘psychic abilities’ was limited to X-Men, Medium, two and a half episodes of that horrible ‘Ghost’s Of His Past’ show Jace plays in, and a couple other random TV shows and comic books. I knew less than nothing about the realities of it. And the way you guys talk I really do have a lot to learn. I’m not saying I don’t want to meet the guy in general or anything. He sounds like a very interesting person.

 

But I can’t believe Magnus is trying to set me up with the dude! He’s known me all of two hours! Do I really seem that badly in need of romantic help? I mean I kinda AM but he doesn’t like, _know_ that…

 

Does he?”

 

Kevin chuckled, shrugging.

 

“Well, he **_is_** psychic, could’ve picked up on something. Look on the bright side- maybe he’s really hot?”

 

Simon scoffed, waving him off.

 

“Oh of course he’ll be- probably annoyingly so.”

 

Kevin quirked his eyebrow, glancing over.

 

“And…being set up with an ‘annoyingly hot’ guy’s a bad thing?”

 

Simon rolled his eyes.

 

“Dude, come on- it’s ME. I’m awkward, hyperactive and flail-y at the best of times. This dudes likely an annoyingly hot vampire/psychic/club owner/enthraller/whatever else. I have no clue how the hell to respond to that! _Any of it!_ I’m gonna end up seemingly either totally mute or worse yet a blathering awkward mess- even more so than usual.

 

 And then there’s the fact that I don’t even know what I’m walking into here. I mean is Magnus gonna give this Raphael dude a heads up that he’s playing matchmaker? Is this something he does a lot? Is he just like, that guy? Is Raphael used to him doing this or is it an anomaly? Will he expect this to be like a pre-date type situation or is it just a weird blindsiding ambush kinda thing? I don’t know which is worse!

 

If he knows it’s a set up that’s a lot of pressure and he’s gonna probably be expecting something- and if he’s a flashy, enthralling club owner I’m guessing that ‘something’ is not an awkward, blathering, comic obsessed nerd.

 

If he doesn’t know it’s a set up I’m basically ambushing the dude at his new business on opening night, cause _that’s_ a really great first impression. And I’m pretty sure Magnus is trying to be helpful and I’d assume he thinks he sees something about me that’d appeal to this guy but- like- what?”

 

Kevin shook his head.

 

“Simon d-”

 

He waved him off.

 

“I’m not talking down about myself- I’m genuinely confused. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me. I like who I am and am totally comfortable with it. But this dude sounds like the polar opposite of me- and going by his abilities and the club and everything I gotta think the dude’s not exactly lacking options so far as dates or romantic partners or whatever else is concerned...I just really don’t get Magnus’s thinking here.”

 

Kevin shrugged.

 

“Well… opposites attract?”

 

He shook his head.

 

“I don’t know about THIS opposite.” he sighed, shrugging as he pulled over, parking the car.

 

“Just seems like it’s gonna be really awkward.”

 

Kevin smiled.

 

“Well it probably will be- it is _you_ after all,”

 

Simon glared, Kevin chuckled, reaching over squeezing his shoulder.

 

“ _Kidding_ …it’ll be fine, and worse comes to worse me and Alec will still be there, you’ll be okay- we got your back….” He paused grinning, eyes sparking mischievously.

 

“Also no way that’s gonna be the most awkward part of the evening. We are taking ALEC to a club opening night- And I get the feeling that’s pretty much Magnus’s element…that’s gonna be fun.”

 

Simon’s eyes widened, giving a quick, surprised laugh, nodding quickly.

 

“Oh wow, yeah you’re right, I didn’t even think about that.”

 

Kevin smirked unfastening his seatbelt, pushing the door open.

 

“See? Not all bad- drinks with friends, meeting a new, interesting person and seeing Alec TOTALLY out of his element.

 

Should be fun…

 

Hey, maybe he’ll even try to dance?”

 

 Simon snorted, grinning, climbing out of the car, moving around to Kevin’s side.

 

“Okay that may actually be worth the whole painfully awkward set up thing.”

 

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

 

“So…just so I’m clear, you’re here all of two hours and you’re already meddling in the love lives of your colleagues, right?”

 

Magnus chuckles rolling his eyes playfully at Alec.

 

“Not ‘Colleagues’, just **_a_** colleague. And this is somewhat out of character. I’m not generally the type to play matchmaker but if I see a definite possibility I can’t just ignore it…especially where Raph is concerned.”

 

Alec glanced over, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Why ‘especially Raph’? Is there something wrong with him I should know? Simon is one of my best friends…”

 

Magnus chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“No, no nothing’s ‘wrong’ with him…and tread lightly. I’m rather protective of Raphael. He’s not just my best friend, he’s family. I’m not gonna lie, the man has his flaws. He can be rather intense, has a slightly devious, dark sense of humor and can come off as a cynical, distrustful, grump. However under all that he’s truly one of the best people I know. He’s had a very hard life, faced a lot of extremely difficult circumstances that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. At this point me and Clarissa are pretty much all he has.

 

As I said, I tend to be quite protective of the darling. God knows he deserves someone looking out for him.”

 

Alec blinked, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“You really think setting them up’s good idea? Simon’s great but it doesn’t seem like they’d have a lot in common.  Honestly he’s a lot; it takes a while to adjust to the constant chatter, flailing, overly excitable ‘thing’. Once you do it’s very endearing but it IS an adjustment.”

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“I can see that but I doubt it’ll be an issue. They do seem quite different, but I think once we get past the awkward set up thing they’ll balance each other perfectly. Simon does seem like a bit of a chatter box, but on the other hand Raphael tends to communicate mainly in sarcasm and eyerolls…though part of that could be me.

 

In any case one person being more verbal tends to work best…pretty sure that’s why Raph and I get on so well- though in an entirely different way of course. Plus Simon does have a bit of a sassy, sarcastic streak which will really strike a chord with Raph. He’s smart and quick witted and while he seems a bit over the top he’s managed to make it as a detective. Not only that but he is now actually training another detective. That says a great deal about the man. In addition to all of that the boy’s absolutely adorable- he’s like a bright, invigorating ball of energy. I really think Raphael will find that appealing.

 

He’ll probably be a bit defensive of the whole ‘set up’ thing…in truth I am expecting a lot of pushback from that. He’d never take that out on Simon of course but I have a feeling he’ll be rather standoffish at first, just on principal. Actually that may be something they have in common as Simon didn’t exactly seem elated by the idea…

 

It might take a while for them to get past their own stubbornness, but I think once they do they’ll work perfectly together.”

 

Alec chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“So you’re playing matchmaker for two people who don’t want to be ‘matched’…and you don’t see a flaw in that?”

 

Magnus smiled, shrugging.

 

“No I see it. I’m just choosing to power through it and I think the awkwardness and resistance will be worth it in the long run. I realize it seems pushy but I really think it will work and this is far too good to pass up.

 

In theory it would’ve probably worked far better if I played it subtle, casually toss them together and let things happen organically, but flailing energy aside Simon strikes me as quite intuitive and fairly hard to trick, and Raphael is one of the only people who can read me like a book. Plus as I said he’s suspicious as hell, he would know I was up to something the second he laid eyes on me. Awkward as it will be I think being upfront about the set up is probably the best way to play it.”

 

Alec gave a slight shrug.

 

“Sounds like it…though it does seem pretty pushy.”

 

Magnus chuckled.

 

“I know but sometimes that’s warranted…and we’re here so let’s drop this till I broach the subject with Raph.”

 

Alec chuckled, glancing over the building curiously

 

“Chaos? We’re going to a club?”

 

Magnus nodded.

 

“Yes, it’s Raphael’s…This is the second location, the one back in Brooklyn is a huge success. Tonight’s opening night, we’re all coming, figured it’ll be a good time to introduce them…”

 

Alec blinked.

 

“We?”

 

Magnus nodded.

 

“Yes…it was Kevin’s idea, remember? A kind of team building, welcome to the SBPD kinda thing.”

 

Alec chuckled, quirking his eyebrow,

 

 “And I’m included in this?”

 

Magnus tilted his head.

 

“Of course! You are my partner after all, can’t have it without you.”

 

Alec sighed.

 

“Magnus I’m really not a ‘club’ kinda guy…”

 

He grinned,

 

“That’s okay, I am enough for the both of us…” He nodded towards the building.

 

“Now come along, I want you to meet him as well. Oh, just a little heads up, he’ll probably try to scare you or freak you out, but no worries, it’s all in fun.” He opened the door slipping out waiting for Alec to join him.

 

Alec sighed, fighting off a slight groan, rolling his eyes.

 

“Yeah…fun…”

 

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kay I know I said we’d meet Raph here, but I got distracted with them talking.
> 
>  
> 
> What do you guys think so far?
> 
>  


	5. Expect The Unexpected…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec meets Raphael...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #  _💛💛Chapter Complete!!_ _💛💛_
> 
>  

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

##  _*~Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

_Well…this should be interesting…_

Alec shook his head as Magnus made his way around to the side of the club, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a key to unlock the door. He pulled it open, glancing over expectantly at Alec.

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow in surprise.

 

“You have a key?”

 

Magnus gave a slight shrug.

 

“Well, Raph is my best friend and he’s been spending quite a bit of time here getting ready for opening night. It was just easier than him always having to stop whatever he’s doing to let me in. Now come along, I’m quite eager for you two to meet.”

 

Alec shook his head faintly, slipping through the door, glancing around curiously.

 

_Huh…not really what he was expecting…not that he had a lot of time to think about what this club ‘Chaos’ would look like._

 

It almost had an industrial kinda feel. It seemed to have at one point been a warehouse with two stories with a decent sized area upstairs that overlooked the dance floor below, an intricate wrought iron railing running around the edges. There was a pretty impressive bar along the left hand wall and a few tables and setting areas scattered about around the edges. The place was quite busy, various people milling around. A pretty brunette stocking the shelves at the bar, a few delivery people carrying things through to a back room, someone on a very tall ladder doing something with the lights above the dance floor and several more scurrying around all seemingly very busy.

 

He startled slightly at a hand on his shoulder, glancing over, Magnus giving a beaming smile.

 

“Amazing isn’t it?”

 

Alec nodded, giving a slight shrug.

 

“Yeah…looks like a lot of work.”

 

Magnus nodded.

 

“It is, but it will most definitely be worth it. I know it doesn’t really look that remarkable right now but seeing it like this is kinda like seeing the staging for a show. Just wait till you see it tonight, all lit up and put together, packed to the seams with people. It’ll be a whole different feel. Then you’ll really get the magic of the place.”

 

He shook his head again.

 

“Yeah… I’m not really a ‘club magic’ kinda guy… honestly you guys would probably have way more fun without me. Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

 

Magnus gasped.

 

“No! Don’t say that! It won’t be the same without you.”

 

Alec chuckled, shrugging.

 

“Yeah, like I said; it’ll be more fun.”

 

Magnus rolled his eyes.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous! The whole reason we’re going out tonight is for you guys to welcome me to the SBPD and for us to bond as coworkers. That can’t happen without my partner.”

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow.

 

“Thought the point of tonight was you playing pushy matchmaker for two less than enthusiastic people- one of whom you’ve known a grand total of three hours?”

 

Magnus waved him off.

 

“There can be more than one point to the evening. And it’s irrelevant, you’re coming.”

 

Alec gave a disbelieving laugh, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Okay you can’t just say I’m doing something and expect me to do it. If anything that just makes me more determined not to.”

 

Magnus chuckled.

 

“Hey look at that, something else we have in common. I know that… however I ALSO know you’re gonna come with us tonight.”

 

Alec laughed.

 

“Oh what, you’re ‘psychic’ abilities tell you that?”

 

Magnus blinked a moment before swallowing, rolling his eyes, giving a playful grin.

 

“Maybe…or maybe I just know what kind of guy you are.”

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow.

 

“And what kind of guy is that?”

 

Magnus smirked.

 

“The kind of guy who’d never turn his back on a friend being pushed into a set up. Simon’s nervous and rather shy. You can’t tell me he wouldn’t feel quite a bit more comfortable with one of his best friends by his side? Come on, you wouldn’t really leave the kid out there all alone like that just cause you’re not much of a fan of clubs, right?”

 

Alec blinked, giving a slightly false glare before huffing, rolling his eyes.

 

“Damnit…”

 

Magnus gave a bright bark of laughter, pointing.

 

“See? Like I said, I got you…”

 

Alec huffed.

 

“Still think you guys’ll have more fun without me.”

 

Magnus shook his head quickly, grinning.

 

“No we wouldn’t. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of fun with you…especially when I drag you out on the dance floor.”

 

Alec gave a scoffing laugh, shaking his head quickly.

 

“Oh that is most definitely not happening.”

 

Magnus gave an impish grin.

 

“Yes it is…”

 

“No it’s not…”

 

Magnus smirked, slipping a bit closer, challengingly quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Wanna bet?”

 

Alec swallowed, blushing lightly.

 

_Damn…why was it so hot in here all of a sudden?_

Alec shook his head, scratching nervously at his neck.

 

“Th-umm…there’s no way that’s happening…”

 

Magnus chuckled, leaning closer, looking up at him through his lashes, flashing an impish, teasingly playful smile.

 

“ ** _No_** way? Absolutely none? Oh come on Alec…I’m VERY creative, surely there’s  _something_  I could do to convince you…”

 

Alec blushed brighter, swallowing nervously, suddenly feeling totally off balance, glancing around to see if anyone heard him.

 

_Geez…_

 

He gulped, rolling his eyes, trying to act totally unaffected and quickly change the subject.

 

“Yeah, it’s not happening, besides I’m sure you’ll have your hands full enough with keeping your unwanted fix-up from turning into a train wreck, you’ll be too busy with that to focus on me.”

 

“Well he really does excel at multitasking-and meddling…particularly the meddling.”

 

Alec startled at the voice directly beside him, head whipping around to see the speaker.

 

He blinked.

 

_Okay…wow…_

The guy standing next to him was stunningly handsome. There’s something about him that seems bizarrely magnetic, though Alec can’t really put his finger on what it is. He’s Latino, with perfectly styled dark brown hair, even darker eyes, and truly striking features. He’s dressed immaculately in pitch black, perfectly tailored suit pants and a clean cut vest over what looks like an obscenely expensive blood red shirt. The sleeves of the shirt are rolled up, showcasing very well toned arms and highlighting rather impressive shoulders.

 

Even though he’s really not Alec’s type he’s gotta admit the man is flat out gorgeous…almost unsettlingly so. But there’s something else there, a little twinge of something in Alec’s head that instantly has him on alert, though he’s not entirely sure why. He doesn’t really LOOK like he should register as a threat. It distantly occurs to Alec the guy’s actually nearly half a foot shorter than him but that doesn’t really do anything to elevate the little buzzing alarms in Alec’s head.

 

The guy just flat out FEELS dangerous.

 

It’s like staring down a predator…     

 

_Please don’t b-_

Magnus chuckled, pretty warm brown eyes sparkling, slipping over next to the man, throwing his arm casually around his shoulders, flashing a playfully annoyed smile.

 

“I don’t meddle! Though Raph does have a point, multitasking **_is_** my specialty, especially when I have such delightful incentive. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time for both…”

 

_Ah crap… THIS was the guy Magnus wanted to set up with Simon? Okay, no way he’s not going tonight. He can’t just leave Simon to a qusi-blind date with this guy. That’s like setting a wolf up with a freaking labradoodle!_

_This guy would eat Simon alive!_

 

Alright, take a breath, you haven’t even said two words to the guy, you can’t judge him just by the first five seconds. Maybe there’s a logical explanation for the odd feeling. Maybe it’s just the look the guy has. It kinda reminds Alec of a 40’s style gangster kinda thing from the movies….that could be it. And it could be a type of persona for the club… right? I mean the nightclub business could be pretty rough; you can’t seem like a pushover. In order to succeed you’d have to appear like you could hold your own… maybe that’s it? Just a club persona….

 

Gotta admit it’d be pretty effective.

 

If it IS just an act the guy has it down cold.

 

Alec tries to shake it off. Glancing over at Magnus, quirking his eyebrow with a playful smile.

 

“Seriously?  ** _You_**  don’t meddle? You’ve been at the SBPD less than a day; you’re already playing matchmaker for two people who don’t want to be set up and dragging me to a club insisting I’m gonna dance with you- which once again, not happening- and again I only just met you this morning.”

 

Magnus rolled his eyes, shrugging.

 

“Okay so I meddle a bit…sometimes… but only for everyone else’s own good.”

 

Raphael chuckled.

 

“Of course…ever the altruist.”

 

Magnus grinned, flashing a wink.

 

“Always nice of you to acknowledge it.”

 

Raphael rolled his eyes, shaking his head affectionately before turning, curiously glancing over Alec.

 

“So, why is Mags dragging a random stranger around my not yet opened club? I’d generally assume someone doing so was simply trying to impress a possible conquest with the whole ‘I have all access to a club’ thing. However as one, you  _clearly_  have no interest in clubs whatsoever and two, it’s Magnus and you’re about as straight as a pretzel, I’m guessing it’s something else.”

 

Alec sputtered, flushing. Raphael ignored it, groaning, glancing over at Magnus, quirking his eyebrow exasperatedly.

 

“Please tell me you are not looking for a hookup spot in my club already?”

 

Alec flushed brighter.

 

“T-that’s n- we’re not, That’s totally t-”

 

Magnus chuckled, patting Alec’s arm affectionately, shaking his head in amusement.

 

“Nothing like that…” He paused, glancing over Alec exaggeratedly.

 

“Well at least not right now-”

 

Alec sputtered again, sending a totally ineffective glare his way. Magnus ignored it, continuing on, squeezing Alec’s arm.

 

“I wanted you two to meet. This is my new partner, Detective Alec Lightwood. Alec? This is my best friend Raphael Santiago.”

 

Raphael blinked in surprise, gaze flicking to Alec before shifting back, meeting Magnus’s eyes, an entire unspoken conversation passing between the two.

 

_Oookay yeah, that’s kinda creepy._

 

“Your partner?”

 

Magnus nodded, giving a faint, nearly imperceptible shrug.

 

“I know, kinda long story. The chief won’t let me work alone and Alec here kind of tricked me into agreeing to it…”

 

Raphael gave a surprised laugh, glancing over Alec curiously.

 

“ ** _You_**  tricked Magnus?”

 

Alec huffed.

 

“You don’t have to make it sound that unbelievable.”

 

His eyes flickered over Alec again slower, a glimmer of something sharp and almost dangerous in those impossibly dark depths that made Alec’s breath catch and sent a chill clear down his spine.

 

“Well…it kind of is…” he paused, glancing around, giving a slight shrug.

 

“Okay it’s quite busy today but I think I have time for a bit of a break. I really am very curious to hear how someone got one over on Magnus.” he flashed a quick, charmingly mysterious smile, meeting Alec’s gaze, that unidentifiable ‘thing’ flashing in his eyes once more, nodding over towards the bar area, indicating for them to follow.

 

“Now come along, seems we have quite a bit to talk about.”

 

Alec fell into step without even really thinking about it.

 

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##  _*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*_

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_Oh crap!_

_Damnit…Raph’s in full protective mode…_

Yeah, it kinda stood to reason. There were all kinds of hassles with him working with a partner. It was gonna be a huge change for him and would likely really throw off his usual process.

 

On top of that Alec tricking Magnus into it had to put Raphael more than a bit on edge. That was a difficult feat even for him. A total stranger accomplishing it within minutes of meeting him did raise a great deal of concern. Raphael was just trying to look out for him, find a way to fix the problem and assessing any kind of threat to his best friend.

 

It was sweet but this was a problem he didn’t really WANT fixed.

 

He appreciated the thought but he doesn’t need Raph using his whole ‘swaying, psi-vamp, mesmerizing thing’ on Alec…

 

_Just no…_

_He’s working his own version of it thank you very much._

He hurried along catching up with the other two, slipping into the booth next to Alec, sliding in close, casually stretching his arm out along the top of the booth behind him, leaning in a bit.

 

Raphael-as always- caught the move right off the bat, dark gaze flickering to him questioningly. Magnus shook his head, nodding to the side, indicating he’d fill him in later when they got a second alone.

 

Raphael quirked his eyebrow.

 

Magnus gave a slight flicker of his hand, letting him know he really was more than alright with the situation.

 

Raphael glanced over at Alec once more, gaze flickering over him appraisingly before shifting back towards Magnus, pointedly raising his eyebrow, giving a sarcastic look and a slight huff of a near laugh, rolling his eyes.

 

Well, no mystery what HE thought Magnus’s motivations here were.

 

_Oh really now…it’s not like he’s THAT easy…_

_…O-okay he can be…sometimes…but that’s totally not the case here._

 

Magnus shook his head.

 

Raphael scoffed.

 

Magnus huffed, exasperatedly rolling his eyes.

 

Raphael rolled his eyes right back.

 

Magnus s-

 

“Umm…c-can you guys maybe talk with, like _actual_ words? That’s getting kinda creepy.”

 

Magnus startles faintly, sheepishly glancing over at Alec, shrugging, waving him off.

 

“Sorry darling, it was completely unintentional. We kinda have a tendency to do that. One of the hazards of being so close for so long. You get used to it after a while. Many times actual words are all but irrelevant...”

 

Raphael gave a sharp laugh, nodding, flashing a near playful smirk.

 

“Thankfully…he does tend to use quite a lot of them.”

 

 Magnus rolled his eyes.

 

“Only in comparison to  ** _you_** \- someone who communicates mainly in sarcasm and eyerolls. I use a completely normal amount of words thank you very much.”

 

Alec gave a slight chuckle, shrugging.

 

“I don’t know…he may have a point. You were keeping up pretty good with Simon and Kevin with the chatter…”

 

Magnus waved him off.

 

“Oh, I’m nowhere near that bad, and they’re absolutely adorable- I couldn’t help but get caught up in it. I really don’t talk nearly that much normally.”

 

Raphael snorted, Magnus glared.

 

“I  _don’t!”_

 

He quirked his eyebrow.

 

“So…this? The last seven years has been, what? You getting ‘caught up’?”

 

Magnus scoffed, smirking.

 

“No…that’s me attempting to keep up both sides of a conversation. If you would just speak more then I could speak less.”

 

He snorted again, shaking his head.

 

“No you couldn’t…” He rolled his eyes once more, glancing over at Alec, quirking his eyebrow, giving a dismissive wave towards Magnus, relaxing a bit.

 

“That’s irrelevant- we’ve been having the same conversation for the better part of a decade…It is getting rather old. I’d much prefer a new topic.

 

Like for example how YOU- detective Lightwood- ‘tricked’ Magnus into…well anything really. Man’s stubborn as hell; if you’ve found a way around it I may be able to use it as well.”

 

Alec blinked, momentarily thrown by suddenly being the focus. He swallowed, shrugging.

 

“Umm…it wasn’t anything too impressive.”

 

Raphael shook his head.

 

“On the contrary. Despite the flashy, flirty, over the top, loud-  _very_  loud…like noise makers at New Year’s level loud- aspects of his personality Magnus really is one of the most brilliant, shrewd, cunning people I know. And I realize we just met but trust me detective, that is saying a lot.

 

I am quite curious how that exactly came about…”

 

Alec shrugged, fidgeting slightly under the intense dark gaze.

 

“W-well…I’d read his file, his career has been very impressive. When I heard mention he was looking for a new precinct- preferably something fairly far away from Brooklyn- I brought it to the attention of our chief, showing him his remarkable record. He was quite impressed, but rather put off by his equally remarkable list of infractions and write-ups-”

 

Raphael chuckled at that, nodding.

 

“That’s putting it mildly…I usually go with ‘bat crap crazy’ kinda sums it up.”

 

Alec gave a surprised laugh, nodding quickly. Magnus gasped, glaring at the both of them. Raphael just quirked his eyebrow, daring him to counter. Alec was a bit more apologetic, placatingly holding his hands up.

 

“Sorry…but it does kinda sum it up pretty well.” He shrugged, shifting his focus back to Raphael.

 

“Anyways Luke- our chief- was a bit wary about having someone so prone to wild-eyed antics in our precinct. He flat out refused unless Magnus would agree to work with a partner to kinda counteract the insanity.”

 

Raphael leaned forward, glancing over him.

 

“Meaning you…”

 

Alec gave a slight shrug.

 

“Well…yeah. I mean I have a pretty exemplary record, numerous awards for meritorious conduct. I think things through and plan accordingly and I have trained several other detectives. Actually my last partner now has his own partner he’s training, which is pretty big. Though that’s not really my accomplishment- Simon totally deserves all the credit there…but still it does look really good for me.

 

Luke thought if anyone could even out his rather outlandish style it’d be me.”

 

Raphael paused, blinking, before bursting out laughing, shaking his head.

 

“O-oh my god…Mags… _They paired you with a freaking **Boyscout!”**_

 

“Hey!” Alec snapped.

 

Raphael shook his head, eyes sparkling bright with laughter, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“What?”

 

“I’m not a ‘Boyscout’! I just-”

 

“Follow the rules, lead by example, collect badges of honor and are ‘always prepared’?”

 

“I-wha-that’s not…I don’t…oh…shut up.” Alec grumbled rolling his eyes, slumping a bit.

 

Magnus chuckled beside him, patting his arm affectionately.

 

“It’s quite alright darling…I think it’s cute…”

 

Alec huffed, rolling his eyes again.

 

“Gee…thanks.”

 

Raphael laughed, shaking his head, flashing an amused grin.

 

“Okay…now I am genuinely curious. How on earth did an overly moral poster boy for ethical police work end up outsmarting one of the shiftiest troublemakers/trouble-magnets in existence?”

 

Magnus gasped.

 

_“Hey!”_

 

Again Raphael snorted, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“What?”

 

“That’s n…okay, yeah…fair point.”

 

Raphael rolled his eyes affectionately, giving a sarcastic look.

 

“I know…” he chuckled, shifting back to Alec, giving a flippant wave.

 

“Anyways…Mag’s is a nuisance and a trouble magnet/ lawsuit waiting to happen, your chief has half a brain and actually acknowledges it unlike his previous chief…continue…”

 

Alec blinked but continued.

 

“Umm yeah…so the only way Luke would let Magnus work in our precinct is if he partnered with me- which was kinda an issue as one thing that was everywhere in his files was that he does not work with partners. I knew he’d be really great for our precinct and once Luke pointed it out I could see that a partnership between us would be quite effective. The things that he excels at are generally my short comings and vice-versa. On paper it made total sense but everything I’d read about him said that was not the way to win him over…”

 

Raphael chuckled, nodding.

 

“You definitely read that one right.”

 

 Alec nodded back.

 

“I know. So, I knew what _wouldn’t_ work with him, I had to find something that would. I noticed in his files he tended to be brash and very confrontational…I got to thinking maybe I could use that.

 

When he was to arrive I was already in Luke’s office. We left the door open and I was talking to him, saying what a bad idea it was, that this just wouldn’t be a good fit- that it was a crazy idea…I figured he’d assume it was about him joining the precinct and he’d be ready to come in to argue the point…”

 

Raphael quirked his eyebrow, tilting his head approvingly.

 

“Hmm…good plan…you can be pretty devious when you want…well…at least for a Boyscout.”

 

Alec huffed, rolling his eyes.

 

“I’m not a- oh you know what never mind- It worked like I expected. I kinda threw him off balance- explaining that he’d misheard- I had no problem with him being there- I actually wanted him there…that what was a bad idea was us being partners.”

 

Raphael chuckled.

 

“Oh…I’m sure that went over well…”

 

Alec nodding,

 

“Uh yeah, probably as good as you expect. He was caught totally off guard, said it was a bad idea…I acted like I was softening on the idea but he said I was right in the first place- which isn’t really what we needed. Then Luke mentioned I was the best training officer he had which-”

 

Raphael snorted.

 

“Kicked his defensive streak right up to eleven?”

 

Alec chuckled, nodding.

 

“Oh yeah, easy. Luke explained that he didn’t mean it like that- I wouldn’t be ‘in charge’ or responsible for him. He went over some of my accomplishments and why he thought the partnership would work…asked him to just give it a chance, just a month then if it doesn’t work we can figure something else out.”

 

Raphael nodded.

 

“Ah rational thinking. Not always a strong suit of his but usually somewhat effective.”

 

Magnus glared at him, Raphael ignored him, Alec continued with a slight chuckle, shrugging.

 

“It seemed to almost work but he was still a bit hesitant…so I went another route.”

 

Raphael tilted his head curiously.

 

“And what route was that?”

 

Magnus chuckled, leaning forward, nudging Alec’s shoulder playfully.

 

“He said he could handle it if I could…then asked if I was going to give it a shot or if I was too scared.”

 

Raphael gave a bright laugh, nodding approvingly.

 

“Yup…that’d do it alright.”

 

He chuckled, smirking glancing over at Alec.

 

“You have no idea what you’ve just gotten yourself into detective.”

 

Alec rolled his eyes.

 

“Yeah…kinda getting that…but I think it’ll be worth it. Though he does seem like a lot I’m sure it’ll be fine…

 

At least it will so long as he doesn’t start playing matchmaker for me as well.”

 

Magnus laughed, leaning forward, eyes sparkling impishly.

 

“Well you know, now that you mention it, I do know this one guy. A detective, new to town, smart, funny, good looking,  ** _great_**  fashion sense…”

 

Alec blushed, rolling his eyes.

 

“Yeah…I met him…he seems like a LOT of work.”

 

Magnus smirked, slipping closer.

 

“But oh SO worth it.”

 

Alec blushed brighter, glancing away, nervously brushing his hair back.

 

“Umm…yeah…think you have your hands full enough with your current matchmaking project…” He paused, glancing over at Raphael before looking back at Magnus pointedly.

 

“Seems like that’ll be a REAL uphill battle.”

 

Raphael froze, sharp, intense gaze flickering over to Magnus who quickly glanced away.

 

Alec gulped, flashing a guilty look at Magnus.

 

 “Oops…”

 

Raphael titled his head, setting up straight, eyes flashing bright and dangerous.

 

“Magnus…what is he talking about?”

 

“Umm…”

 

Raphael glanced at Alec, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Detective, can you give us a moment? This is not going to be a silent conversation. This will require words. Many words. Multilingual and most likely exceptionally loud.”

 

Alec glanced over at Magnus questioningly. He gave a reassuring smile, nodding.

 

“If you could I’d really appreciate it…maybe head out to the car, call in, just to be sure we don’t have any cases. Check in with Simon and Kevin see that they don’t need any backup? It won’t be too long.”

 

Raphael scoffed.

 

“It might.”

 

Alec glanced once more between the two before nodding, Magnus slipped out of the booth to let him out. Alec paused, reaching over squeezing his arm lightly before glancing over at Raphael.

 

“Uh…okay then…Raphael…it was…umm…interesting meeting you.”

 

Raphael tilted his head, flashing a quick, sharp smile, impossibly dark eyes flickering dangerously.

 

“You too detective…I’m sure I’ll see you soon. Can’t wait.”

 

“I can…” Alec muttered, turning away from the odd, tense scene, shaking his head, making his way to the door.

 

Magnus watched him go, sighing faintly before turning back to Raphael, holding his hands up placatingly,

 

“Okay I know what you’re gonna say but-”

 

#  _*__ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ __*__ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ __*_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> _I love this verse!_
> 
> _I can’t wait for Raphael and Simon to meet (Lol the wolf and the labradoodle…)_
> 
> Anyways what do you guys think so far?


	6. Fix The Fix up…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> # 💛💛Chapter Complete!!💛💛
> 
> Kay so this chapter is just gonna be 1 part, but it IS long enough to be a 2 parter so we’re good…also I have the rest of the story planned and adding another part I think would just bog it down.

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##  _*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*~_ _Magnus_ _~*_

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 “Mags no…you’re not setting me up. It’s not happening.”

 

Magnus huffed, rolling his eyes.

 

“I knew you’d say that- didn’t need any psychic abilities for that one either, but just hear me out-”

 

“No. We’ve been over this…I’m good, okay? I’m fine. I am. I’m happy, I have friends, I have my club- now _clubs_ \- I have a good life, I am good with things exactly how they are. I really am. I do not need anything else. I do not need a romantic relationship.

 

I really don’t.

 

A relationship is drama; it’s complicated and confusing even in the best, most normal of circumstances…and this is me we’re talking about. ‘Normal’ has never been a factor there, not even close.

 

Relationships are drama and complications in general. Add in the ace thing and the psi vamp thing and the enthralling/manipulation thing and all the other just ‘me’ things and…I-It’s just a **_lot_** of unnecessary drama and complications and even more drama. I **_really_** don’t need that.”

 

Magnus sighed, tilting his head.

 

“But you want it.”

 

Raphael began to shake his head, Magnus quirked his eyebrow, cutting off his denial.

 

“Raph…sweetheart, it’s me. One, I’m psychic and two I’m your best friend- you can’t lie to me…well…you can…but you know I see right through it.

 

You do want a relationship, I know it.

 

And I don’t say that because I’m under the misguided notion that everyone needs to be paired up or the like. I realize that there are people who don’t want that, who are perfectly content to be single and unattached.

 

But I also know that you are not one of them.”

 

He sighed, shrugging.

 

“Well maybe I should be.”

 

Magnus sighed, shaking his head.

 

“Darling that’s n-”

 

“Mags? I know you mean well here- I do. And I appreciate it- you’re looking out for me just like you always do. Thank you, really. It mean a lot; but I just don’t think it’s a good idea.

 

I mean yes, honestly? I would like to find someone. But I am a realist and with all the mitigating factors I just don’t see it happening…I really don’t. I appreciate the thought and I’m sure the guy’s great- you wouldn’t be trying to play matchmaker with me if he wasn’t- but I just really don’t think it’ll work out, it’s far too complicated.

 

I mean with the ace thin-”

 

Magnus waved him off, leaning forward.

 

“Darling you play that card far too much. You use it as a shield, an excuse for not even trying. I know it can be disheartening and it is a factor and I realize to some people it would be a huge issue, but only to those to which sex is the be all end all of the relationship. I wouldn’t set you up with someone like that.”

 

Raphael huffed, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Mags? You’ve known the guy less than four hours…”

 

Magnus quirked his eyebrow right back.

 

“Yes, and I could tell in the first four minutes he wasn’t that type. He’s sweet, and funny and kinda sassy and sarcastic with a wonderfully snarky streak that will suite you to a tee…not to mention the boy is absolutely adorable.

 

He’s a detective- Alec’s old partner a-”

 

Raphael scoffed, eyes widening in disbelief.

 

“You’re trying to set me up with a **_detective?_**  Mags- you cannot be serious. With my background? Have you suffered a recent blow to the head or something you forgot to tell me about? Should I be worried? Because seriously, you are not thinking clearly.”

 

Magnus held his hands up placatingly.

 

“Okay I know that may be a little awkward b-”

 

“A ‘little awkward’? Mags; a ‘little awkward’ is complaining about a song only to find out it’s their favorite or somehow accidently insulting them…

 

Setting up a detective with an admittedly somewhat morally ambiguous, just _barely_ former criminal with an unproven record that stretches back nearly two decades is a whole other story. I couldn’t date a detective…hell even dating a meter maid would be pushing it.

 

An _actual_ detective?

 

There is no way that’d fly- what could I even talk to a detective about?”

 

Magnus shook his head.

 

“Raph, I’m a detective, you talk to me just fine.”

 

Raphael scoffed.

 

“You are an anomaly- you’re a psychic AND a detective-”

 

Magnus smirked, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“So is Simon.”

 

Raphael blinked in surprise.

 

“Wait…what? H-he’s an anomaly or a psychic detective?”

 

Magnus chuckled, shrugging with a slightly flippant wave.

 

“Actually I think a bit of both.

 

He is psychic- an empath with an exceptional shield producing ability, probably a kinda protection for the empathic abilities. Though he does seem rather anomalous as he only found out he’s psychic about a month ago when his new partner mentioned how relieved he was to have a partner who’d really ‘get’ him…

 

Which sounds like it was rather amusing as the dear didn’t know about the psychic thing. Apparently his shields are so strong that he has to actually consciously take them down to be able to sense the rest of us. He had no clue what Kevin was talking about and thought he was referring to sexuality…which…was quite the mix up from what I hear.”

 

Raphael tilted his head, holding his hand up.

 

“Uh…wait…his _partner’s_ psychic too? There are two other psychics at your new precinct?”

 

Magnus grinned, bouncing excitedly.

 

“Three actually. Simon, Kevin and Divya. Kevin can Astro project, he’s just been a detective for a few weeks now but seems very promising, I quite like him. I haven’t met Divya yet- she’s a patrol officer now but studying for the detectives exam- though as she’s pyrokinetic/telekinetic I’m making a point to stay on her good side.”

 

Raphael gave a surprised laugh nodding quickly.

 

“Uh…yeah probably a good idea…”

 

Magnus nodded enthusiastically continuing.

 

“Right? So anyways after the whole mix up and a very embarrassing conversation that Simon thought was about sexual abilities Kevin just got frustrated and explained he meant _psychic_ abilities- and Simon was perhaps even MORE confused…He didn’t know what the hell the guy was talking about…

 

Sound familiar?”

 

Raphael chuckled, tilting his head in acknowledgment.

 

“Yeah…not the same thing but I can see your thinking. So this Simon’s psychic…meaning he’ll know I am as well. And he- or more likely his partner/ introductory guide to all things psychic- will know what a psi vamp is, or hell even that they’re simply not total morons and capable of figuring out anything with ‘vampire’ in the title is probably not great and in all liklihood dangerous and should be either avoided at all cost or looked at closely for investigatory purposes…

 

That actually may be worse than just a normal detective finding out about my far less than law abiding past. Detectives generally see me as shifty as hell, suspicious and most likely hiding something. Psychics would have a pretty damn good idea what that something is gonna be.”

 

Magnus sighed, tilting his head in acknowledgement.

 

“Okay…I get that, I do- but I don’t think it’s gonna be an issue here. I mean when I told them they were a bit thrown at first b-”

 

“Woah…wait…you _told_ them?”

 

Magnus winced, faltering, rubbing at his neck nervously.

 

_Crap…yeah that might be a sticking point…_

“Uh…yeah.”

 

Raphael set back slightly, swallowing, shaking his head.

 

“What? Magnus…why would y-”

 

“I know sweetheart. It’s rather a touchy subject but it just came up. Alec had went to talk to Luke and we had a bit of time alone and were talking about being psychic in the department and Kevin mentioned it was nice here having actual backup that knew the truth and I told him I did have that, just not officially connected to the department…

 

He asked what psychic abilities you and Clarissa had- I saw no reason to lie and I figured if I’m working with other psychics odds are we’ll end up working cases together. It would help for them to know the back up that I have…

 

I didn’t just throw it out there lightly and I assured them you had total control over your abilities. It’s fine darling, it really is. I felt nothing malicious from them about it and Kevin seemed quite sympathetic…

 

Hell, them coming tonight was actually his idea, after I mentioned wanting to introduce you two.”

 

Raphael quirked his eyebrow.

 

“And how did this ‘Simon’ react to the psi vamp thing?”

 

Magnus hesitated.

 

“Umm…”

 

“Magnus?”

 

He sighed, shrugging.

 

“Okay he was a bit thrown b-”

 

“A ‘bit thrown’ meaning?”

 

“He…kinda said it sounded like my backup was a supervillian. But he said it in a really cute, endearing way!”

 

Raphael gave a surprised laugh, shaking his head at the sheer absurdity.

 

“A supervillian?” He couldn’t help a slight chuckle, shrugging.

 

“Admittedly it’s practically a compliment compared to most of the things I’ve been called but it doesn’t really bode well so far as first impressions, blind dates fix-ups go.”

 

Magnus laughed, tilting his head in acknowledgement.

 

“True…but darling I really think you should at least give it a chance…you guys do have some common ground.”

 

Raphael scoffed, folding his arms, quirking his eyebrow in challenge. 

 

“Like what, we both think you’re a busybody and a pushy jackass with too much time on his hands?”

 

Magnus laughed, nodding animatedly.

 

“Yes, but there’s more!”

 

Raphael shook his head but couldn’t help a slight smile, gesturing for Magnus to continue. Magnus beamed, giving a quick nod.

 

“Well first the obvious- you’re both psychic-”

 

Raphael quirked his eyebrow.

 

“Mags, saying a psi vamp is the same as an empath is like saying a pissed off housecat is the same as a rampaging tiger-

 

Yes _technically_ they are related but only in the most basic sense.”

 

“Kay but still it’s something- he may not understand all of it but he’d at least be able to know the truth…it IS something.

 

And both of you made it to adulthood without knowing about being psychic- having to have it pointed out to you by another psychic _and_ a detective…who you assumed was insane…that’s another one, a couple even.”

 

Raphael gave a sarcastic look.

 

“Yeah, again, not the same thing. He was told by his detective partner- I was told by a detective set on arresting me- and justifiably so as I was guilty as hell.”

 

Magnus tilted his head.

 

“Well…okay b-”

 

Raphael sighed, setting forward, shrugging.

 

“Also the reason we didn’t realize is a bit different. He was so protected by his shields he couldn’t sense other psychics. His story of finding out about psychics is a cute little thing with miscommunication and hijinx. I could sense them but I didn’t know what it was. I spent nearly fifteen years thinking it was simply a part of the feeding thing, that I was just a freak of nature that needed to steal energy from other people. I didn’t realize it meant they were like me- psychic. I thought the weird buzzing feeling about someone just meant they were a better source of energy to steal- basically a way to find the best prey…

 

Not exactly first date chitchat.”

 

Magnus tilted his head in acknowledgement,

 

“Okay maybe not b-”

 

“Mags I r-”

 

Magnus sighed, leaning forward, resting his hand on Raphael’s squeezing gently.

 

“Sweetheart I know, okay? I get all the reasons you’re convinced it won’t work- why you don’t want to even try- why you’re afraid to…

 

I get it…I swear I do.

 

If I genuinely thought you’d be happy just as it is I wouldn’t push so…but I know you…I know you better than anyone. And I know that you do want this…”

 

Raphael sighed, shrugging.

 

“Yeah b-”

 

“Raph… how many times have I tried to fix you up?”

 

He paused, blinking in confusion.

 

“Umm…none. I mean you’ve asked me about it a couple times but you’ve never actually tried before.”

 

Magnus smiled.

 

“Exactly. It’s not something I’d take lightly or something I’d just try for the hell of it…I wouldn’t push you on it if I didn’t genuinely think it had a real shot at working out.”

 

Raphael paused, tilting his head curiously.

 

“D-did you actually _see_ something o-”

 

Magnus hesitated, giving a slight sigh, shaking his head.

 

“No sweetheart, I didn’t, nothing so set in stone…just a feeling I get. But I do think it’s something…and I think if you guys gave it a chance it would be worth it…”

 

Raphael sighed, hesitantly shaking his head.

 

“I…Mags…I really don’t kn-”

 

Magnus smiled, shifting forward, squeezing his hand again.

 

“Okay maybe just forget about the ‘blind date’ thing. I just want you to meet some people I work with, alright? No pressure, just my best friend meeting my hopefully soon to be work friends…

 

That’s not so bad, right?”

 

Raphael gave a huff of a laugh.

 

“Really, so we’re just going the denial route?”

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“Well it was actually plan A but Alec rather adorably blew that out of the water…I suppose I’ll forgive him for it, you would’ve known the second you shifted from protective mode and caught sight of me that I was up to something.”

 

Raphael smirked, nodding.

 

“True…by the way how’s that gonna play out? You and a partner- a non psychic partner? How are you gonna work that one?”

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“I honestly don’t know, figured I’d play it by ear. I have three other psychics at the station, that could help quite a bit. I was rather hoping Alec’s previous partner being psychic would mean he’d be more open to the less conventional but as the dear didn’t actually know he was psychic it may not help as much as I’d hoped…

 

Though the boy IS quite unconventional in any case so who knows. I do think it is worth a shot, that I should give the guy a chance.”

 

 Raphael gave a faint scoff of a laugh, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Oh yeah I’m sure you will. By the looks of it you’ll give the guy just about every ‘chance’ he wants.”

 

Magnus gasped, rolling his eyes.

 

“Oh really now I am not that easy.”

 

Raphael snorted.

 

“Yeah you are.”

 

“No I’m n-…o-okay fair point; I can be…on occasion. But this isn’t that. I think working with Alec could be good.”

 

“Once again- I’m sure you do.” Raphael chuckled.

 

Magnus huffed,

 

“It’s really not like that. I think this detective partnership could really work out well.”

 

Raphael rolled his eyes.

 

“Oh please Mags? This is me you’re talking to. Let’s be real here. You don’t want a partner; you just want to work with him because he's hot.”

 

 

 

“Thought you didn't get that?”

 

Raphael rolled his eyes again, tilting his head sarcastically, giving a flippant wave.

 

“I'm ace not blind-

 

I can see when someone is aesthetically appealing- I just don't turn into a jabbering idiot because of it.

 

Besides even if I was totally oblivious you were looking at the guy like you wanted to devour him...doesn't exactly take a genius to put that together. You may say you want to work with the guy, got duped into giving it a shot or whatever other excuse you want to toss out but we both know if you really didn’t want this you’d of already found a way out. You say you just want to give it a shot but it mainly boils down to you just flat out want Alec and this partnership is the most convenient way in.”

 

“It is not! That’s not even gonna happen, I’m sure fraternizing is against the rules.”

 

Raphael outright snorted at that.

 

“Oh yeah, cause THAT’S sure to stop you…hell it’s **_you_** , it being ‘against the rules’ probably just makes it more exciting.”

 

“That’s n…okay again fair point…but probably pretty irrelevant. I don’t think Alec would see it that way.”

 

 Raphael shook his head, chuckling faintly.

 

“Not yet…Oh my god…You are SO gonna corrupt that poor Boyscout…he has no clue the insanity he has just bumbled his way into.”

 

Magnus laughed in surprise.

 

“Hey! What makes you think I’m gonna corrupt him?”

 

Raphael quirked his eyebrow.

 

“The last seven years?”

 

Magnus chuckled, giving a conceding shrug.

 

“Fair enough…but you may be underestimating him- he did manage to trick me into agreeing to the partnership after all. That is fairly impressive.”

 

“True, though realizing you’re stubborn and confrontational isn’t exactly a leap. I am however somewhat impressed someone as straight laced and uptight as him actually went through with it…

 

That’s something I guess. Maybe the guy won’t be totally over his head with you.”

 

Magnus smiled, shrugging.

 

“Maybe…and hey, you never know; you’re always pushing me to be more careful- think things through more, plan ahead, that kind of thing. I get the feeling that’s what Alec excels at. Maybe he’ll be a positive influence on me.

I could become a level headed professional.”

 

Raphael chuckled.

 

“Sure…and I could become an eternal optimist.”

 

Magnus laughed brightly.

 

“Oh it’s not _that_ farfetched…”

 

Raphael shrugged,

 

“It kinda is. And you should probably get back out to him. He’s not gonna just jump when you call…

 

You’re not sleeping together _yet_ after all.”

 

Magnus rolled his eyes, laughing, slipping out of the booth.

 

“Stop it, we are just **_work_** partners…”

 

_“So far.”_

 

“Stop. But we really should get going. We don’t have a case today as of yet so Alec’s taking the opportunity to show me around and introduce me to a few people.  We’ll actually be quite busy, it’s gonna be a pretty hectic day.

 

I’m sure between that, your big opening night and Simon and Kevin’s case today the five of us will have more than enough to talk about this evening at the club.”

 

Raphael groaned, rolling his eyes.

 

“Really- we’re still doing that?”

 

“Darling it’s already planned, they agreed, there’s no backing out now. It’d be rude to call and cancel.”

 

Raphael quirked his eyebrow, standing up to walk Magnus out.

 

“Yes and clearly ‘rude’ would be the absolute worst thing someone would expect coming from a **_vampire.”_**

 

Magnus chuckled, rolling his eyes, waving him off.

 

“See, sarcasm. Another thing you and Simon have in common.”

 

Raphael scoffed.,

 

“Pretty sure that’s near anyone’s default reaction when dealing with you for an extended period of time.”

 

“True enough, but you two are some of the few who manage to make it entertaining and endearing…that’s something.”

 

Raphael shook his head, giving a heavy sigh,

 

“Mags, I really don’t th-”

 

Magnus sighed in turn, reaching over, gently squeezing his arm.

 

“Darling stop over thinking…you’re getting too caught up in your head. Like I said, forget the setup. You’re just meeting a couple of my colleagues, that’s it, okay? No pressure. If something happens, it happens, if not? Well, it’s a chance to meet some new people and maybe make a couple friends.

 

Maybe I totally read it wrong, it’s possible. If I did you have something to hold over my head and I know how very much you love that.

 

Besides even if I didn’t have any ulterior motives I’d still want you guys to meet. You’re my back up, have been for years. I know you have my back without question. It’s only a matter of time before I need your help on a case and odds are if I’m working at a precinct with them we are gonna end up on cases together. Chief Garroway is quite insistent I don’t ‘go it alone’ so I’m gonna have someone with me. Eventually you are going to cross paths-

 

May as well get the introductions out of the way during a lull rather than in the midst of some insane case, right?”

 

Raphael started to argue, but sighed, giving a slightly conceding shrug.

 

“Yeah…that part does make sense.”

 

Magnus nodded quickly giving a beaming smile.

 

“Okay good! Forget the setup thing, I never said anything like that, you never heard about that. This isn’t that. Tonight is not a set up…”

 

Raphael shook his head, quirking his eyebrow, chuckling in amusement.

 

“Mags? You’re a slightly precognitive clairvoyant, not a Jedi.”

 

Magnus laughed, shrugging.,

 

“Hey, it’s worth a shot…but really, just relax tonight. This isn’t about a setup, this is about my best friend meeting my new colleagues, hopefully soon to be friends…my actual police sanctioned backup.

 

My lack of which you have griped about almost nonstop I’ll remind you. You hated that Brantley would let me go out on cases alone- pissed you off to no end and you never missed an opportunity to grumble about it.

 

I have a real partner here- actual police issued help watching my back. That is something, right? A partnership I even agreed to…well after being duped into it but still…it is something yes?”

 

Raphael scoffed, rolling his eyes faintly, tilting his head in acknowledgment, smirking impishly.

 

“Yes I suppose. Though you only agreed to it because you think the guys hot… and Boyscout or not I kinda doubt it’s your ‘back’ he’ll be watching. Even so, it is better than nothing.”

 

Magnus laughed, flashing a cheeky wink.

 

“Eh, I’m okay with that. Can’t say I’m not gonna be enjoying the view myself. And Alec is a very accomplished detective, I doubt a little attraction is gonna effect his ability to do his job too much. Besides a little flirting never hurt anything.

 

Keeps life interesting.

 

And that’s just Alec…” Magnus brightened, bouncing slightly, eyes sparkling with excitement.

 

“Raph; I have THREE other psychics working at the same precinct as me! Do you realize what a huge deal that is? How much of a weight off my shoulders? If there are three others who are trying to cover where they’re getting tips or how they came about finding evidence or whatever else that is a huge boost. That means I have three other officers who can help cover for me, that can help deflect when something seems too coincidental. Three other officers with unconventional tips and hunches.

 

Officers who know what I’m going through because they’re going through the SAME thing. That is huge. We can work together, help cover for one another, find ways to tie the tips to something more tangible. That is such a weight off my shoulders.

 

I know you and Clarissa do everything you can to support me and I do appreciate it- I really cannot say enough how much it means to me that you were willing to uproot your entire lives just to come clear across country to continue helping me, I really can’t. But even so having actual police backup? Police backup  that is in the know will be absolutely unprecedented for me-

 

Even more so than the partner thing.” He trailed off squeezing Raphael’s arm once more, shaking his head faintly.

 

“I know the setup thing threw you, I’m sorry, it was just a thought. Like I said maybe I jumped too fast- that IS kinda my move after all-”

 

Raphael snorted, nodding emphatically. Magnus shrugged, giving a soft gentle smile.

 

“There really is no pressure darling. The guy just seems delightful and I thought you two would hit it off…I do think you guys would click, but maybe it’s not a romantic ‘click’ type thing. Maybe you’d just work as friends…there’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

 

Raphael sighed, shrugging with a slightly halfhearted wave.

 

“I-yeah…there’s nothing wrong with that…I guess.”

 

Magnus brightened.

 

“So you’ll meet h-uh…them, give it a chance? I just would really like my work backup to meet my…my Raphael backup…

 

Kay? Please?”

 

Raphael gave a slightly muffled groan, rolling not only his eyes but his whole head, holding his hands up placatingly.

 

“Fine…I’ll meet him.”

 

Magnus gave a happy cheer, slipping forward, hugging Raphael, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, pulling back, squeezing his shoulders excitedly, eyes bright and happy.

 

“Thank you sweetheart! That’s-”

 

Raphael held his hand up.

 

“But you need to find this Simon before tonight and explain that it’s not a date, just your work friends meeting your friend-friends…okay?”

 

Magnus nodded quickly.

 

“Of course sweetheart, I will.”

 

Raphael paused, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Mags? I mean it. I don’t want you to just say you will and conveniently forget. I want you to promise me that you will tell him…and I don’t mean as you are getting here or as I walk over or anything else like that.

 

I want you to tell him within the next two hours.

 

Clear?”

 

Magnus sighed.

 

“Raph, I promise, okay? I swear. As soon as I get out to the car I will get his phone number from Alec and text him explaining that the blind date thing was a bit much and that it’s just coworkers meeting friends thing- that you were as enthusiastic about the setup thing as he was.

 

I’ll even send you screenshots of the conversation, alright?”

 

Raphael gave a faintly relieved sigh, nodding.

 

“Thank you Mags. I know you’re just trying to help b-”

 

He smiled, shaking his head.

 

“No you’re right darling, it was far too much- I overstepped. You know I get carried away. I met a sweet, snarky, sarcastic absolutely adorable boy and thought you would like him, I got excited.

 

You know how impulsive I am.”

 

Raphael laughed nodding emphatically.

 

“Oh yes…I am well aware.”

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“Hey…it’s not the first time that’s happened, you know it won’t be the last, and my heart really was in the right place.”

 

Raphael smiled softening a little, nodding,

 

“I know Mags, it always is.”

 

Magnus smile, nodding back, giving a slight shrug.

 

“And it’s probably for the best. A blind date type setup would be a bit much. I think the dear will be far more relaxed with the friends/coworkers meeting- far less pressure. I kinda get the feeling having someone you’ve known a grand total of two hours meddling in your love life may have come off as slightly patronizing.”

 

Raphael chuckled.

 

“I’d say obnoxious and pushy as hell but sure, we can go with your wording.”

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“Like I said, I got carried away…I’d say it wouldn’t happen again b-”

 

“But we both know that’d be a lie.”

 

Magnus laughed.

 

“Don’t need any psychic abilities for that one either.” He smiled, squeezing Raphael’s arm once more.

 

“Thank you darling, I’ll see you tonight.”

 

Raphael smiled, pushing the door open holding it for Magnus.

 

“See you Mags…And thanks for this.”

 

He nodded.

 

“Of course darling.”

 

Raphael glanced up out at the car and Alec kind of nonchalantly leaning against it, trying to look casual and relaxed. He couldn’t help a slight chuckle, reaching up, flashing a quick little wave and smirk at the detective.

Magnus huffed, nudging him, rolling his eyes.

 

“Raph- play nice.”

 

Raphael laughed, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Mags, come on…you know this IS me playing nice.”

 

Magnus gave a faintly amused glare, pointing censuringly.

 

“Well, play nicer! No teasing my partner.”

 

“Right…because you’ll be teasing the poor guy enough for the both of us, won’t you?”

 

Magnus huffed.

 

“I have no idea what you mean.”

 

“Uh huh…sure you don’t. S-see you Mags…

 

Oh that poor Boyscout…” Raphael muttered, chuckling to himself, shaking his head, giving one last slight wave, slipping back into the club, door closing silently behind him.

 

Magnus rolled his eyes, turning bounding over to the car, Alec slipping in the driver’s seat, glancing over questioningly at Magnus pulling out his phone, beginning to type.

 

“Everything okay?”

 

He flashed a quick smile, nodding quickly.

 

“Yeah it’s fine…just texting Simon real quick, telling him it’s not a ‘setup’ tonight, just a friends meeting other friends type thing.”

 

Alec nodded, relaxing a bit.

 

“He wouldn’t go for it huh? Eh, it’s probably for the best…they really don’t seem like they’d have too much in common, the fix up probably wouldn’t have worked anyways.”

 

Magnus chuckled.

 

“Wanna bet?”

 

Alec blinked, glancing over.

 

“Umm…wait…you just texted Simon it’s NOT a date.”

 

Magnus nodded.

 

“Yup and he texted back…an **_insanely_** long text that boils down to ‘oh thank god’. I took a screen shot of the conversation and sent it to Raphael just now, so it’s all good.”

 

Alec shook his head, glancing over once more in confusion.

 

“Uh…Oookay so maybe I missed something but you literally JUST told both of them it wasn’t a date. You even sent Raphael a picture of Simon text saying how relieved he was it wasn’t a date.”

 

“Yup…”

 

“So…they know it’s not a date…”

 

“Right…”

 

“Umm…s-so the setup thing is off…right?”

 

Magnus chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“Oh no, that’s totally still on…it just actually has a chance of working now.”

 

Alec blinked in bewilderment.

 

“Umm…yeah…I’m kinda lost.”

 

Magnus shrugged, giving a flippant wave.

 

“Well neither of them wanted to be set up, they both already made up their minds that it wouldn’t work, wasn’t gonna happen. No way either of them would actually give it a shot. Going into a date like that both of them would have torpedoed it in a matter of minutes.

 

It was never gonna work…it just wouldn’t. At least not like that…This way they have a shot.”

 

Alec blinked, glancing over, shaking his head.

 

“Umm…Yeah, I’m going with ‘I’m lost’ again.”

 

Magnus chuckled.

 

“As I said it’d of been far easier if I could just toss them together and let things happen organically but Raph knows me too well and he’d see a setup coming a mile away. The second he saw my reaction to seeing him and Simon meet he’d of known I was up to something and that’d be all she wrote on the subject.

 

I couldn’t take the direct approach, had to go a more circuitous route…but it’s still ending up likely the same place.”

 

“Which is?”

 

“Simon and Raphael actually giving dating a shot.”

 

“B-by telling them it’s NOT a date?”

 

Again Magnus nodded.

 

“Exactly! See, I float the idea of a setup, Raph rejects it, but I bargain him down to meeting my colleagues, he’ll agree to that, and now I put the idea of a romantic possibility in both of their minds. How they react to tonight will tell them everything. If they’re good with the friend thing then that’s fine, I really do think romantic chemistry or not they’d get along quite well.

 

However both of them know there was the possibility of it being a date. If they seem disappointed it didn’t remain so then they’ll know…and they may be more apt to take that step themselves. Only it would be on their terms…

 

Which is the only way I’d get either of them to do anything.”

 

Alec gave a slightly disbelieving laugh.

 

“So…basically your plan for setting them up on a date is to tell them it’s not a date until they decide they want it to be a date?”

 

Magnus smiled, nodding.

 

“Exactly…”

 

Alec glanced over once more.

 

“So…the sending a picture Simon’s text was, what? Proof that they both know it’s not a date? An extra bit of assurance?”

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“Well that…and it was the easiest way for me to give Raphael Simon’s number without actually flat out giving him his number.”

 

Alec rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

 

“Oh of course…easy.”

 

Magnus beamed.

 

“Right? See you get it.”

 

Alec laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.

 

“Oh yeah, I get it alright…

 

Raphael was right on the money, you are bat crap crazy.”

 

Magnus gave a bright laugh and a flippant wave.

 

“Eh, does tend to keep things interesting..

 

So where was it we’re going next?”

 

#  _*__ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ __*__ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ ___ _*_ __*_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> Okay so I’m just gonna toss this out there- 1.despite the more fun tone, this verse is probably gonna be one of the darker ones I have (Well, my version of dark in any case. 2. one side effect of that is in this verse the Saphael may be a bit more complicated than most of the others- I know, I know, but it can’t be totally smooth sailing, falling head over heels in EVERY verse…
> 
> This will be more complicated, but it will also I think be more interesting.
> 
> (Don’t worry you know I love my Saphael, they’ll be fine, it’ll just take them more work- they’re well worth that right?
> 
> Anyways, I know Magnus was a bit pushy and sneaky but he really does have Raphael’s best interests at heart…
> 
> So what do you think so far?


	7. Mediums And Mysterious texts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarissa’s shop really does come with everything…
> 
>  
> 
> And Raphael and Simon meet…well kinda…
> 
>  
> 
> ##  _💛💛Chapter Complete!!_ _💛💛_
> 
>  

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _Other_ _~*~_ _Other_ _~*~_ _Other_ _~*~_ _Other_ _~*~_ _Other_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

#  _*_ _~_ _Clary_ _~*_

 

“You’re really putting that there?”

 

Clary huffed, rolling her eyes, giving an animated wave to where the sassy, redheaded snarker was situated, setting cross-legged on the counter in front of the apothecary area, bright blue eyes sparking teasingly.

 

“Yes, Eugene I’m putting it there. What’s wrong with there?”

 

Eugene shrugged, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Nothing…just you know, with this being a store and all I figured you’d maybe want to put things where they’d, you know… _sell_.”

 

“Oh you’re just trying to be difficult! The charms and pendants work perfectly here with the rest of the jewelry. It’s best to keep all of it together so customers get a chance to look over everything.”

 

Eugene rolled his eyes right back, emphatically shaking his head, bright red, curly hair bouncing animatedly.

 

“Yeah no…they’re pretty and eye-catching and not too expensive- a perfect impulse buy. They should be close to the register. This way while people are waiting they can look them over and will end up buying more. You should put them over by those weirdly intricate coloring book page type things. Or in place of them…I can’t imagine those actually selling anyways.”

 

Clary shrugged.

 

“It’s a trend- they’re actually really popular right now- it’s relaxing.”

 

Eugene laughed, shaking his head.

 

“It’s headache inducing! There are about a million tiny little details. One mistake and all that effort’s out the window. How is that relaxing?”

 

Clary laughed, shaking her head, picking up the display of charms, moving over to the counter, settling it on one of the display tables just off to the side.

 

“Okay, not everyone’s a perfectionist like you. It’s not ‘out the window’ if there’s one little misstep. They don’t have to be perfect. They’re _supposed_ to be that complicated. It holds people’s focus longer, takes you out of your head, gives you an escape- a way to just tune out and turn off your mind for a bit.”

 

Eugene quirks his eyebrow.

 

“They DO know that alcohol is still, like, a thing, right?”

 

She snickered.

 

“Yes but generally these have a bit less of a downside the next morning.”

 

Eugene huffed, looking over one of the pages in disdain.

 

“So instead of a headache and a bit of nausea you have a weird, garish, Technicolor picture representing hours of your life you’ll never get back?

 

Think I’d take the hangover.”

 

She rolled her eyes again, laughing slightly.

 

“You just don’t get it…”

 

Eugene scoffed.

 

“Nope I don’t. I think I’m kinda okay with that.”

 

“Oh it’s really n-”

 

She’s interrupted by the a quick knock at the door followed by the tinkling of the bell.

 

“Hey Biscuit, you in here?”

 

Eugene perked up, turning eagerly towards the door.

 

“Oh! It’s your cute friend! Hi Magnus!”

 

Clary shook her head, fighting off a chuckle.

 

_Leave it to Magnus to end up with the ghost hunting her shop crushing on him…_

“Hey Mags, Eugene s- oh…umm…hi?” she trails off, tilting her head, looking over the tall, dark haired man a few steps behind Magnus, pulling the door to behind them.

 

Eugene blinked, slipping off the counter, folding his arms, quirking his eyebrow, looking the new comer over suspiciously, walking a circle around him. He paused next to him, jerking his thumb towards the guy.

 

“Who’s the guy with the weird eyes and bad suit?”

 

She gave a slight shrug, looking back at the newcomer before shifting over to Magnus curiously. He gave a bright smile and a slightly helpless shrug, moving across the shop. The tall, dark haired man followed along, flashing a faintly confused smile and a bit of an awkward wave.

 

“Hi…” he offered.

 

“Hello…” she said again, glancing between the two in confusion.

 

The new guy smiled.

 

“Alec…I’m Magnus’s new partner.”

 

She blinked in surprise, eyes widening, glancing over at Magnus.

 

“Partner?”

 

Eugene startled, tilting his head.

 

“I thought you said he was single? He’s not actually into tall, dark and fashion challenged here, is he?”

 

“Not _that_ kind of partner…” She muttered with a slight huff.

 

Alec blushed faintly, quickly shaking his head, stepping forward extending his hand.

 

“Uhh…no… ** _work_** \- work partner. Detective partner. Detective Alec Lightwood with the SBPD. Me and Magnus are gonna be working together. Today’s our first day as partners and as we don’t have a case yet I thought I’d take Magnus around and introduce him to a few of my contacts. Apparently he figures turnabout is fair play and decided to do the same. Gotta admit I’m pretty surprised he actually even has contacts when he just started here but it’s a good surprise. Hi Clarissa, it’s nice to meet you…”

 

She smiled, reaching forward, taking his hand.

 

“You too Alec…please call me Clary.  I know this seems a bit unorthodox, probably not what you’re used to.”

 

“Yeah seems pretty uptight.” Eugene chimed in, judgmentally looking over him, stopping right next to the detective, trying to subtly stand up straighter to seem closer to Alec’s height.

 

Clary just barely managed to keep the eyeroll internal, ignoring the snarking specter, glancing back at the detective.

 

“I’m guessing you’re a bit out of your element here.”

 

He chuckled, giving a slight shrug.

 

“A bit…though I’m pretty sure I’d take an occult shop over a nightclub any day.”

 

She tilted her head in surprise.

 

“You met Raph already?”

 

Alec nodded.

 

“Oh yeah…he’s…umm…something else alright.”

 

Eugene scoffed, nodding quickly, jerking his finger towards the detective.

 

“Okay, I’m actually with weird eyes here on this one.”

 

Clary rolled her eyes, shaking her head, glancing back at Alec giving a slight shrug.

 

“Admittedly Raph’s kinda an acquired taste, but the guy really is one of the best people I know. He has a great heart and a lot of compassion. It’s hidden under a near impenetrable layer of snark, intimidation, fancy suits and more snark, but it is there.”

 

He chuckled, rolling his eyes slightly.

 

“Well I hope you’re right about that…Magnus seems set on trying to fix him up with one of my best friends.”

 

Clary blinked in surprise.

 

“Really Mags? You’re setting someone up with Raph? How long have you known this guy?”

 

Alec scoffed.

 

“At the time of the decided sit up? Less than two hours.”

 

Eugene gave a slight, scoffing laugh.

 

“What did his best friend do to piss Magnus off so quickly?”

 

She shot a subtle glare Eugene’s way, quirking her eyebrow at Magnus.

 

“That seems awful quick?”

 

Magnus shrugged.

 

“I know biscuit but sometimes you have to take a chance…sometimes you just know…”

 

Alec rolled his eyes.

 

“And sometimes you’re just a pushy, busybody with too much time on your hands.”

 

Magnus chuckled, slipping closer to the detective, flashing a playful smirk.

 

“Only when it’s for everyone else’s best interest.”

 

“Uh huh…at least now I know why poor Simon seemed so thrown.”

 

Magnus gave a dismissive wave, shaking his head.

 

“Oh they’ll be great together.”

 

Alec laughed, shaking his head right back.

 

“Oh please, there’s no way it’s gonna work. It’s like you’re setting up a wolf with a freaking labradoodle!”

 

Magnus laughed brightly.

 

“Sweetheart I’m telling you it’ll work…”

 

“It’s insane! Your plan is to tell them it’s a date than tell them it’s NOT a date until they decide they want it to **_be_** a date. It’s not gonna work. There is just no way.”

 

Magnus quirked his eyebrow challengingly.

 

“Wanna bet?”

 

Alec chuckled, crossing his arms, giving a slight shrug.

 

“Bet what?”

        

  Magnus grinned, slipping closer.

 

“A dance at the club tonight?”

 

Alec rolled his eyes, trying to fight off a smirk.

 

“I told you that’s not gonna happen…”

 

Magnus quirked his eyebrow right back, eyes sparkling challengingly.

 

“Well if you’re so sure my plan won’t work than here’s an easy way out…take the bet. I lose I don’t bug you about it. If you’re so very sure you’re right then you got nothing to lose…right?

 

Unless of course you’re not nearly as sure as you claim you are.” He smirked stepping closer.

 

“So detective; either you take the bet or admit that you think I’m right.”

 

Alec laughed, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“And if I win?”

 

Magnus smiled flirtatiously, slipping a bit closer.

 

“I don’t know…what do you want, _detective?”_

 

Alec blushed faintly, faltering a bit, seemingly considering, eyes slipping over Magnus, lingering before pausing, eyes sparking brightly, leaning in a bit.

 

“Hmm…I know. How about if you…”

 

Magnus leaned in eagerly.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Read, summarize and outline the entire section on proper procedure and analyzing the risks of a situation in the California Police handbook.”

 

Magnus blinked.

 

_“You’re betting me **homework!”**_

Alec shrugged.,

 

“Hey those are the stakes- take it or leave it.”

 

Clary gave a surprised, bright giggle. Eugene huffed, rolling his eyes, throwing his hands up exasperatedly.

 

“Oh my god the man’s an idiot…or straight…or a straight idiot…”

 

Alec chuckled, quirking his eyebrow right back.

 

“Hey like you said- if you’re sure you’re gonna win, you’re fine...” He paused, smirking, leaning closer.

 

“Unless of course you’re too scared.”

 

Eugene rolled his eyes, slumping a bit against the counter, pouting slightly.

 

“Not straight…just an idiot…in a bad suit…with weird eyes.”

 

Clary sent a faintly apologetic shrug his way, shifting back to Alec and Magnus. Magnus gasped, pointing emphatically.

 

“Hey! Don’t think that’s gonna work….I’m not falling for that twice in one day.”

 

Alec shrugged.

 

“So is that a yes or a no on the bet?”

 

Magnus hesitated a moment before taking a deep breath, confident expression returning.

 

“You’re on Boyscout.” He snapped assertively, reaching forward, extending his hand. Alec grinned, catching his hand, shaking firmly, squeezing, lingering a bit longer than necessary.

 

Alec chuckled, smirking, tugging his a little closer, eyes sparking playfully, leaning in just enough, voice going soft almost teasing.

 

“Think you fell for it again.”

 

Magnus faltered a bit, the slightest hint of a blush coloring his cheeks, swallowing before shaking it off. He scoffed, shaking his head,

 

“Only if I lose…”

 

Alec chuckled, smirk picking up teasingly.

 

“Yup…and what could possibly go wrong with setting up two totally opposite people whose only common ground is not wanting to be set up?”

 

Magnus shook his head,

 

“That’s not their only common ground…”

 

“Oh right…that and the fact that they both think you’re a meddlesome busybody.”

 

“They do n…o-okay fair point- But they have more than that in common…I know it.”

 

Alec chuckled, teasingly.

 

“Oh yeah…the ‘psychic’ thing right?”

 

Clary froze.

 

“Ps-Psychic thing?” She asked tentatively.

 

Alec shrugged, nodding.

 

“Yeah, I know. Trying to mess with the new partner on the first day…it was funny. Though the occult shop thing kinda adds to it but then again I gotta figure I wouldn’t have actually been able to trick a psychic.”

 

Magnus chuckled, shrugging.

 

“What can I say sweetheart you saw right through me.”

 

Clary laughed, giving a seemingly casual shrug, and somewhat too bright smile.

 

“Yeah he really does have quite the oddball sense of humor. The word we usually use is ‘charming’ or ‘eccentric’…Well, Raph has a few others but I don’t usually like to use that kind of language.”

 

Alec laughed.

 

“Oh I bet…Gotta admit if anything his contacts are a hell of a lot more interesting than mine.”

 

Clary smiled.

 

“Alec, you have no idea…but give it time- assuming Mags doesn’t scare you off you will.”

 

Alec grinned, shaking his head.

 

“Yeah that ain’t gonna happen- I’ve been a detective for over a decade and head detective for more than four years. I’ve trained three other detectives and my most recent training partner is now actually training a detective himself. I think I’ll be fine…I really don’t scare that easy.”

 

Eugene perked up a bit, eyebrow raising consideringly.

 

“Is that a challenge?”

 

_Oh great…now she has a pouting, jealous, sassy, **scheming** ghost to deal with…_

 

She shot a subtle censoring look Eugene’s way, waving him off, stepping firmly between the two before glancing back at Alec, giving a huff of a laugh.

 

“That’s true enough- you met Raphael and didn’t panic or run…that says a lot. I know a weirdly intimidating club owner and an occult shop owner isn’t really the kind of ‘contacts’ a detective would usually have…but well…Mags isn’t your typical detective.”

 

Alec chuckled, nodding emphatically.

 

“Don’t have to tell me that- I’ve seen his file.”

 

Magnus laughed, nudging him playfully.

 

“Hey it’s not THAT bad.”

 

Clary snorted, Magnus glared heatlessly.

 

_“It’s not!”_

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow.

 

“Magnus you have more infractions and write ups than anyone I’ve ever seen still on the force.”

 

He quirked his eyebrow right back.

 

“True…I also have the highest number of closures so it kinda works for me.”

 

“Not nearly as well as you think it does…”

 

Magnus winked.

 

“Keep telling yourself that gorgeous.”

 

Alec rolled his eyes, glancing back at Clary, flashing another warm smile, shaking his head faintly.

 

“It really is nice to meet you Clary. Kinda get the feeling Magnus here needs all the help he can get.”

 

Magnus gasped, Clary giggled, nodding emphatically.

 

“He really does- I’m kinda with Raph on this one- he really does require constant supervision.”

 

He chuckled.

 

“Yeah that seemed to be Chief Garroway’s take on it too. He was impressed by his record but his OTHER record kinda made him balk. He only agreed to extend the job offer if he’d partner with me.

 

Though he DID say I’m not actually responsible for him so that’s a relief.”

 

She giggled.

 

“Oh definitely…I bet Raphael’s glad you’re gonna have actual police type back up. I know it annoyed him to no end that your last chief let you go it alone. Though I am pretty surprised…” She paused, glancing over at Magnus, quirking her eyebrow.

 

“Mags, why didn’t you tell us you’d be working with a partner here? I didn’t know that.”

 

He chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“Neither did I. The chief and Alec here kind of ambushed me...they tricked me into it! Can you believe it?” He paused glancing over the detective appreciatively.

 

“Can’t say I mind that too much.”

 

Alec rolled his eyes, blushing lightly. Clary quirked her eyebrow, glancing between them.

 

“Wait…you _tricked_ Magnus into it?”

 

Alec shrugged.

 

“Well yeah…I mean I knew he never worked with a partner and that would never fly with Luke- no way in hell…It was the only way I could think to get him to agree.”

 

Magnus smirked, winking playfully.

 

“Hey I had a suggestion how you could get me to agree…”

 

Clary quirked her eyebrow.

 

“Gee you’re SO subtle Mags. Wonder how I’ll ever figure out what that was…” she teased sarcastically.

 

Alec rolled his eyes, blushing but continuing on.

 

“Eh, like I said that was plan B…since Plan A worked it was unnecessary.”

 

“My plan was better.” Magnus insisted.

 

Alec chuckled, eyes lighting playfully, shrugging.

 

“I don’t know…from your backup’s reactions I’m starting to think my plan was a fair bit more impressive.”

 

“Maybe…but mine would’ve been a hell of a lot more fun…” Magnus muttered.

 

Alec blushed brightly, nervously chuckling. Clary giggled brightly, rolling her eyes exasperatedly at Magnus before glancing over, tilting her head, settling closer to the detective.

 

“Well I got a pretty good idea what Magnus’s plan was…what was yours?”

 

 

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

 

Simon held it together long enough to get out of central booking, getting Lawson handed off to Phineas for processing, keeping a relatively straight face until they made it out the door of the precinct.

But that’s about as long as he could. He blinked shaking his head in disbelief, giving an animated wave, looking over at Kevin.

 

“Oh my god…seriously… _How?”_

 

Kevin snickered, shrugging, shaking his head, deep blue green eyes sparkling with laughter.

 

“Dude...I-I don’t even know, okay? I just don’t. We worked the case, got the perp, got the evidence, we’re good…but I have no clue here.

 

 I have no idea why someone would even want to steal a Komodo Dragon from the zoo. I have no idea why they’d think the Komodo Dragon _wanted_ to be taken from the zoo. I have no idea why he thought ‘that lizard looked at me for a full minute and came up to the glass’ was a valid reason for the theft. I have no idea why He’d think it would be ‘better off’ in their fifth floor walk up apartment. I have no idea why He’d think a ten foot lizard would be okay with the housing committee of the apartment complex when the building doesn’t even allow dogs.

 

I just don’t know on this one.

 

I-I think we may actually be better off NOT knowing. This was an odd one. I know we get a lot of odd ones but, um… yeah…this one may be a winner.”

 

Simon laughed, nodding animatedly.

 

“Oh definitely. I can’t wait to tell Alec. He’ll get a real kick out of this one. H-”

 

He’s interrupted by his phone blipping, signaling a text. Simon slowed a bit, chuckling faintly, reaching for the phone.

 

“Man, you sure Alec isn’t psychic too? He does that all the time- like he can sense when people are talking about him…”

 

 Kevin chuckled, flashing a bright smile, shaking his head.

 

“Nope, not psychic- just creepily weird timing. What’d he say?”

 

Simon shrugged, pulling the phone out, glancing over the text pausing…

 

_Huh…_

 

He slowed to a stop just at the bottom of the steps, tilting his head, blinking a couple times.

 

**_Unknown Number:_ ** **_Is this Simon?_ **

****

“It’s not Alec…” He muttered absently, turning the screen for Kevin to see.

 

He quirked his eyebrow, tilting his head curiously.

 

“Huh…that’s odd…wonder who it is.”

 

Simon shrugged unconcerned, absently typing out a response.

 

“Only one way to find out…”

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Yes…who is this?_ **

****

He sent the message, continuing their trek to the parking structure, idly waiting for a response.

 

**_Unknown Number:_ ** **_Raphael Santiago, Magnus said he told you about me._ **

****

Simon squeaked, flailing, fumbling the phone, nearly dropping it. Kevin glanced over, quirking his eyebrow in concern at the nervous reaction.

 

“It’s Magnus’s friend- the Vampire/enthraller/club owner! He said Magnus said he told me about him! _What’d he tell him?”_

 

Kevin blinked.

 

“I thought you said Magnus texted and said it wasn’t a date anymore? Just a meet the friends type thing?”

 

Simon nodded animatedly, eyes wide.

 

“He did!”

 

“So why’s he texting you?”

 

Simon flailed.

 

_“I don’t know!”_

 

“What’d he tell him about me? Why is he texting me? Did Magnus n-”

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Hello? Are you still there?_ **

****

Simon squeaked.

 

“He wants to know if I’m still here!”

 

Kevin gave a flippant wave.

 

“Well you are…answer.”

 

Simon gulped, nodding like a bobble head.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Yeah I’m here. Sorry wasn’t expecting to hear from you. I didn’t know if Magnus had told you about the fix up thing tonight or if the fix up thing was kinda just his ‘thing’- like he’s just that guy who tries to fix people up or whatever and I didn’t know if he was telling you or like ambushing you with the attempted fix up or what and I was kinda worried about it but then I wasn’t because I thought that was off? He texted me and said it was just a ‘friends meeting friends’ type thing not a ‘blind date’ type thing._ **

 

Simon huffed, rolling his eyes.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Oh my god, did he not tell you that? I’m SO sorry- it’s really not anything about you I swear. I didn’t want a fix up with anyone- I mean I probably need one but I don’t want one._ **

****

Simon flailed.

****

_Damnit! Why’d he send that?! What the hell!_

**_Simon:_ ** **_I mean I don’t ‘need’ a fix up! I’m not like desperate or anything- despite what that text sounded like. And I know it’s probably like a huge red flag that someone’s trying to play matchmaker with me when they’ve known me all of two hours and that probably makes you think I must seem like really desperate or hopeless or whatever but I’m really not._ **

**_Though come to think of it that might be what Magnus probably thinks cause you know- bringing up the set up thing in the first meeting…_ **

**_Well unless like I said he’s just like ‘that guy’ the fix up guy…_ **

****

**_Is he that guy?_ **

****

_Crap! Why’d he send that?!_

_Can someone invent something that warns you when you’re sending something embarrassing?_

Simon groaned, shaking his head, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. Kevin glanced over, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“What all are you saying?”

 

Simon flailed, giving an aggravated wave, rolling his eyes at himself, shaking his head.

 

“I don’t know dude! I’m babbling like I always do.” He huffed, shaking his head again, groaning, holding his phone out to Kevin.

 

“Here- take this from me so I don’t embarrass myself anymore than I already have. He’s probably already blocking my number. I’m not responsible enough to h-” 

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Lol…Wow…chatty one aren’t you?_ **

 

Simon blushed lightly, sighing, rolling his eyes again, nodding.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Dude, you have no idea. Like I said I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. I panicked…when I panic I babble…Well… even more than usual._ **

****

**_Sorry..._ **

****

Kevin glanced over, quirking his eyebrow.

 

“Hasn’t blocked you yet?”

 

Simon snorted, shaking his head faintly.

 

“Not yet.”

 

Kevin smirked.

 

“Am I still confiscating your phone?”

 

Simon shrugged.

 

“I d-”

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_It’s fine- Mags is my best friend I’m pretty much used to chatty at this point. It doesn’t usually bother me. Well…so long as it’s not a twenty minute soliloquy on this girls eyes or that dream the other night about the hot mechanic -Again Mags is my best friend. I probably don’t talk nearly enough so it kinda helps as if I’m steering the conversation it’s generally sarcasm, snark and a lot of awkward silence._ **

****

Simon gave a light chuckle, smiling.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Well I got the sarcasm, snark and awkward part down- especially the last one- the silence thing? Yeah not so much._ **

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Lol…yeah, kinda got that from the text bombardment._ **

 

Simon blushed faintly, relaxing a bit, moving over to the passenger side of the car, absently climbing in. Kevin chuckled, shaking his head, slipping into the driver’s seat.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Sorry, I’d say it won’t happen again but in all likelihood it will…like a lot._ **

****

**_Raphael:_ ** **_As I said it’s fine. Besides given the circumstances the reaction’s more than understandable. I didn’t mean to throw you, I apologize. Magnus told me the same thing but the more I thought about it getting him to agree just seemed far too easy. He told me about the set up and pushed it for about twenty minutes but then dropped it. At first I was thinking he just decided to respect my wishes…then I realized it was ‘Magnus Bane’ we were talking about here and that made me a bit nervous. I just wanted to be sure._ **

****

**_He sent me a screenshot of your conversation as proof that he told you like I’d asked but it just had the number at the top, and I absolutely wouldn’t put faking a conversation past the man._ **

****

**_I just wanted to be sure we were on the same page with tonight. I didn’t want either of us ambushed._ **

****

He sighed giving a slightly relieved nod.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Good that’s a real relief…again it’s nothing to do with you. The whole blind date/set up thing’s just way too much pressure._ **

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Agreed- I don’t know how that could not be awkward. And honestly Magnus did tell me he’d told you about me…about my abilities. It would be understandable if that made you uncomfortable. It does for a lot of people._ **

 

Simon flailed slightly, shaking his head.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_It’s really not that._ **

****

**_Raphael:_ ** **_So saying I seemed like a Supervillian was…?_ **

****

Simon flushed, huffing, rolling his eyes.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_He told you that? Oh my god, I’m sorry- that was so rude…It was just a knee jerk reaction, I swear! I’m new to all this and it caught me totally off guard. I didn’t know there was a real world version of a vampire. Hell up to like a month ago I wasn’t even aware there was a real world version of a psychic- any kind of psychic period- and I apparently AM one._ **

****

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Simon, it’s fine…and Mags didn’t want to tell me but I know him well enough I can read him like a book. He told me he’d told you guys about me and my abilities and I asked him how you reacted._ **

****

**_It really is okay. Supervillian is a compliment compared to most of the things I’ve heard._ **

 

Simon gave a soft sigh, feeling a little knot in his stomach thinking of all the things the guys probably heard. He swallowed, shaking his head.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Still I’m sorry about it. And I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with all of that. I really have no idea how you’ve managed to handle it. I mean like I said I don’t know a lot about it- well like next to nothing really, just what Kevin’s told me but god…_ **

****

**_I really have no idea how you do it. I know I could never handle something like that. Growing up like that? Oh my god, no way I’d be able to. Hell, I couldn’t even handle it now and I’m a 26 year old detective. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. You must be an unbelievably strong person._ **

 

There was a bit of a pause. Simon swallowed nervously, fidgeting wondering if he’d overstepped. That was kinda pushing into pretty personal territory.

 

_Maybe he s-_

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Thank you Simon, that is very kind of you to say. Honestly sometimes I don’t know how I handle it either…I just do. You’d be amazed what someone can face when they have no other choice._ **

 

Damn, poor guy. Simon swallowed, feeling his eyes get a bit misty.

****

**_Simon:_ ** **_I wish you didn’t have to._ **

 

_Ah damnit…that was just stupid what w-_

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Me too._ **

****

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Are you still coming to the club tonight?_ **

****

Simon’s cheeks colored lightly.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Yeah…well at least I am if you’re okay with that._ **

****

The response was almost immediate.

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_I am if you are._ **

****

Simon couldn’t fight off a soft, warm chuckle.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Yeah…I’m more than okay with it. The whole set up thing was kinda crazy and totally out of left field and like a stupid amount of pressure but I really did want to meet you- just not in a painfully awkward, forced set up kinda way. Like I said I don’t know a lot about this whole ‘Psychic’ thing…I’ve never met anyone like you._ **

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_You mean A Supervillian?_ **

****

Simon gave a surprised, slightly giggly laugh. Kevin glanced over, questioningly quirking his eyebrow.

 

“So I take it that’s a definite ‘NO’ on the phone confiscation thing?”

 

Simon scoffed, giving a playfully challenging smirk.

 

“Don’t even think about it rookie.”

 

Kevin snickered, shaking his head in amusement, shifting his focus back to the road.

 

“Hmm…maybe I should see If Magnus wants to play matchmaker for me too.”

 

Simon flushed, rolling his eyes.

 

“Shut up…it’s not like that. He just said something kinda funny…now stop interrupting me! I can’t text and talk at the same time- that’s WAY too many words for me to juggle. I get them mixed up enough in just one conversation.”

 

Kevin snorted, nodding quickly.

 

“Got that right…”

 

Simon flashed a totally heatless glare, before shifting his focus back to his phone.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_You’re not gonna let that go are you?_ **

****

**_Raphael:_ ** **_No…probably not…_ **

****

Simon snorted, quirking his eyebrow playfully, smirking.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Okay but fair warning ‘Supervillian’ is a comic type thing. I am a totally unashamed nerd. You think I talk a lot now? Get me on the subject of Comics, Superhero’s and Supervillain’s. I can spend an entire evening debating which has better villains; Marvel or DC._ **

****

_Oh damnit! Why’d he say THAT? He didn’t need to actually tell the guy he’s a nerd. He has eyes, he has ears- he’d figure it out on his own quick enough. What’s h-_

 

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Well to be fair that’s a very complicated topic. DC has more powerful villains but Marvel’s tend to be more interesting._ **

****

Simon squeaked, flailing, nearly fumbling his phone again; this time in excitement bouncing slightly in his seat. Kevin glanced over, quirking his eyebrow inquisitively. Simon looked over meeting his eyes, giving a bright, near giddy smile.

 

_“He knows Comics!”_

Kevin snorted.

 

“Definitely not getting the phone from you now.”

 

“Nope…no chance in hell…now shut up. Focus on the road or something, you’re driving, you’re supposed to be paying attention. We’re law enforcement officers- we need to set an example after all.”

 

Kevin chuckled, shaking his head, rolling his eyes in amusement. Simon gave a near giggle of a laugh, settling more comfortably into his seat, smiling at the phone screen.

 

**_Simon:_ ** **_Oh my god you SO totally have that wrong!_ **

****

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Yeah?_ **

****

**_Simon:_ ** **_Yup, totally._ **

****

**_Raphael:_ ** **_Prove it…_ **

 

#  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kay I know it kinda cut off there but we don’t really need to rehash the intro again, figured that was a good place to cut the scene…I know Eugene just kinda stopped commenting, I figure he’s sulking cause Magnus’s flirting with Alec.
> 
> FYI Eugene is actually the murder victim in verse 7…(He’s actually gonna be a ghost from the 40’s)
> 
> I know it’s kinda odd but it popped in my head and I thought it’d be an interesting thing to play with…
> 
> I kinda like the idea of him being snarky and kinda messing with Alec whenever he comes into the shop…
> 
>  
> 
> Kay *Slight* change of plans…I had every intention of having a ‘Magnus Meets Izzy’ thing for the last chapter but then Raphael and Simon meet cute through text popped in my head and I just couldn’t NOT do it.
> 
> How could I pass that up?
> 
> We’ll just have to meet Izzy in the next story…Not like we don’t have time- we have 9 stories in this verse after this one.
> 
> I like Raph having a few nerdy tendencies…how else is he gonna work with Simon?
> 
> I really like how the meeting through text thing went…
> 
> Just one chapter left…
> 
> what do you guys think so far?
> 
>  


	8. Losing A Bet (Never Felt So Much Like Winning)

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*~_ _Simon_ _~*_

##  _*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~_ _*_ _~*_

 

_Okay…okay…be cool…it’s fine…it’s not a date._

_It’s not._

It’s just going out with your friends and a new coworker. No pressure, no drama, no blind date type set up. Just going to a club opening night with a couple friends.

 

Gotta admit that part’s actually pretty cool. In the whole blind date/vampire/enthraller panic type thing he’d kinda overlooked that.

 

To be fair being randomly set up on a blind date with someone who your knowledge of entirely consisted of a description that would be pretty apt for a _literal_ supervillian (complete with actual superpowers) a few things might take precedence over the whole ‘clubbing’ thing.

 

But now that the ‘blind date’ drama is out of the way he can focus on the fun, cool part. He’s never been to a club opening night…alright, really most any night. I mean, don’t get him wrong he’s went clubbing before- He’s not Alec after all. He’s even got into a few of them. There was even a time in college where he and his friends would try to go most every weekend. ‘Try’ being the operative word. Generally it usually ends up him and a few buddies stuck in line most of the night before calling it quits and heading to the comic book store.

 

That kinda lost the appeal pretty quickly, eventually they got to the point where they’d skip the cool pretext, embrace their nerdyness and just head straight to the comic book store. It wasn’t that they stopped wanting to go- they were just realistic.

 

But this? Going with Magnus? He had a feeling that was gonna be a totally different experience. No way was Magnus the type to just ‘stand in line’- he literally knew the owner. And not like that’s just a line someone drops to seem impressive- he was the owner’s best friend- Alec said he actually had a key to the place! Simon was actually invited to go to a club opening by the best friend of the club owner. Not only that but he was _meeting_ the club owner…well after panicking and frantically trying to maneuver out of a super awkward blind date with said owner.

 

Which that right there was pretty wild itself.

              

I mean, yeah he kinda got stuck on the whole psi-vamp/enthraller type thing so much that that went right over his head but really, how crazy was that? Someone actually thought to set him up on a date with a club owner? Him- Detective Simon Lewis?

 

 And it wasn’t even like as a prank or a dare or whatever, but an actual set up.  Like Magnus genuinely thought he and Raphael would hit it off, that he’d be interesting enough to catch the attention of a freaking psi-vamp/enthraller club owner…like what?

 

Don’t get him wrong he doesn’t want a set up; he wants no part of that. Blind dates are awkward and odd and a stupid amount of pressure and probably the stupidest idea in history. But after the blind panic and the flailing and the half hour stewing/sulking/fuming/ attempted plotting a payback for Kevin for playing a hand in setting him up with a freaking Vampire- gotta admit, it was actually pretty flattering.

 

Especially after talking to Raphael. Apparently Magnus ISN’T the ‘annoying fix up dude’. Raphael said he’d never tried the fix up thing- at least not with him. He actually said Magnus must think Simon’s something pretty special if he’s trying to set him up with Raphael - Well that or he really managed to piss Magnus off he’d joked.

 

He couldn’t help chuckling at that. The guy did seem funny. Raphael had a dry, sarcastic, slightly dark sense of humor which Simon had to admit really appealed to him. It was pretty different from his own, but good different. He seemed very intelligent and very witty. They’d actually texted back and forth for over two hours before Raphael had apologized, saying he had to get back to work as there was still a lot to get ready for the opening tonight…before again asking if Simon was going to be there.

 

He promised he would.

 

Raphael said he would see him tonight.

 

And that’s gonna happen in less than an hour.

 

Simon shook his head, leaning forward, looking himself over in the mirror.

 

_Hmm…the green shirt’s okay…right?_

Y-yeah…it is…he’s been through his wardrobe twice. It’s fine- it’s not like ‘club wear’ but he shouldn’t look too out of place. He thought about going and buying something new but one, Alec and Kev would spot that a mile away and have questions that he flat out did not want to answer and two he didn’t really have the time, patience or the fashion sense to just go out and pick out a ‘club outfit’.

 

The green shirt was fine. Besides the only other things he has are his work suits and a bunch of stuff with random fandom type things on it. No one wears suits to a club and he wears most of his other shirts he’s gonna constantly be mistaken for a teenager who snuck in.

 

The green shirt’s the best he has…it has to do. He reached up, fussing slightly with his hair, trying to get it into some type of order. Simon took a couple deep breaths, trying to tramp down the slightly giddy, bubbly little thrill buzzing over his skin. Ah crap…okay more deep breaths. He really wanted to try to keep that in check tonight. That buzzing, erratic, electric energy.

 

He always thought it was just general hyperactivity but apparently it’s actually tied to his psychic abilities. His emotions kinda radiate out, a type of continuation of his shielding ability. Kevin said it’s usually not too noticeable but it was an actual tangible thing other psychics can sense, especially when he’s overly agitated or panicky- when his brain starts whirling…which admittedly it does…like a lot. There have been a few times during cases when Kevin’s had to actually step away for a bit as apparently it gets to be a lot.

 

He really didn’t want that to be Raphael’s first impression of him…well the first impression that isn’t him calling the guy a supervillian.

 

_Yeesh…_

 

Yeah, that could’ve been better. But he really didn’t seem offended- he actually seemed to take to teasing Simon about it. Simon saw that as a good thing. He really hoped tonight went well. Raphael seemed like a very interesting, very complex person. Actually he seemed kind of fascinating. His abilities were unlike anything Simon had ever heard of- well outside of comics and cheesy movies in any case.

 

He’d really love to learn more about the guy. He just hoped he didn’t come off weird about it. Like…h-he wanted to learn more about the guy but he didn’t want to seem like he was looking at Raphael like he was some oddity in a sideshow. He would never think that. He knows the guy’s a person and he can’t imagine how insane dealing with those abilities was growing up.

 

He has to walk a fine line. He doesn’t want to seem put off by the psi-vamp thing but at the same time he doesn’t want to seem like a gawking idiot about it either. He needs to act like a polite, normal person. Much as it pains him Simon has to fight all of his natural nerdy instincts. He cannot geek out about this- no matter how curious he is. This isn’t just some cool little trick or whatever someone can do- it is an inborn trait. Something Raphael’s had to cope with and struggle to control nearly his entire life.

 

Simon has to play it cool here…

 

_Ugh…that was SO not his strong suit._

 

Still, in this instance he needs to be. The last thing he wants is to offend the guy…he seems really great. He’s smart and deep and brave and funny and snarky and kinda playfully teasing and he doesn’t mind Simon babble and he even knows comic books!

 

_Dude…_

He REALLY does not want to screw this up.

 

N-not that it’s a date or anything.

 

Cause it’s not.

 

They both agreed. It’s absolutely not a date. The guy just seems really interesting. He’s just a really unique person Simon really enjoyed texting with and he’s kind of eager to meet him in person…that’s all.

 

_And anyw-_

He startles at his phone chiming with an incoming text. He shifts over a bit, glancing at the phone screen on his dresser.

 

**_Kevin:_ ** **_Hey we’re here._ **

****

Simon took one more deep breath, grabbing his phone, wallet and keys, casting a last, quick glance in the mirror, nodding faintly turning for the door.

 

_Okay…here goes nothing._

 

#  _ 20 Minutes later _

 

Magnus laughed brightly shaking his head in disbelief.

 

“No, you have to be making this up!”

 

Kevin shook his head quickly.

 

“Nope…hell, if anything we’re downplaying the crazy- we are professionals after all.”

 

Alec snorted, flashing a playful smirk, glancing in the rearview mirror at the other two, eyes twinkling bright.

 

“Uh huh…epitome of professionalism right there…though seriously, where did he think he was gonna keep a ten foot, carnivorous lizard!”

 

Simon leaned forward, bouncing lightly in his seat.

 

“Oh I know that one- he made a terrarium. Well by ‘made a terrarium’ I mean he shoved two potted plants, a jungle printed blanket and an old, repurposed heat lamp he stole from his dad’s fast food place into the laundry nook…

 

Oh also so the lizard wouldn’t feel lonely he put up posters of other Lizards. He couldn’t find any with Komodo dragons so he had a Godzilla, dinosaurs and a few dragons from Game Of Thrones.”

 

Magnus chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“That is j-Oh, Alec? Turn here- Raph said we can park in the employee’s parking. It’s right up there.”

 

Alec nodded, turning into the parking lot along the side of the club. Simon felt a bit of a fluttering thrill in his stomach. He took another deep breath, trying to tramp down the little buzzing thing. Magnus tilted his head, glancing over, flashing a bright, reassuring smile.

 

“Relax darling- this’ll be fun.”

 

Simon nodded like a bobble head, fidgeting slightly.

 

“I know- just seems kinda crazy you know? I’ve never actually been to a club opening night. I’m not really a ‘get into the club’ kinda guy…More the ‘stand in line at the club for a few hours then give up and head to the comic store’ kinda guy. With all the crazy blind date type stuff I sort of forgot about the whole clubbing thing…it really is a lot to process.”

 

Alec huffed, catching Simon’s eye in the rearview mirror.

 

“No…really?”

 

Kevin laughed, nodding, deep, blue-green eyes sparkling in amusement.

 

“Dude seriously- Alec have you ever even actually been to a club?”

 

“Umm…you mean beyond going to one for or during an investigation?”

 

Kevin nodded, Alec shook his head back.

 

Magnus blinked, eyes widening.

 

“You’re kidding!”

 

He shrugged, scratching nervously at his neck.

 

“It’s just never really been my kind of thing. Clubs are loud and chaotic and packed full of people- that does not appeal to me.”

 

Simon grinned, leaning forward, hooking his arm around Alec’s headrest, leaning over to better see Magnus, nodding excitedly.

 

“Oh Magnus dude, you don’t even know! Basically Alec’s a stubborn old man trapped in a much younger body.”

 

Magnus chuckled, tilting his head consideringly, looking back over at Alec.

 

“Hmm…you know…you and Raph may actually get along quite well too. I’ve said that about him several times.”

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow.

 

“Well…good thing he chose a career that allows him to avoid things like noise, crowds and chaos…you know like owning and operating a club literally NAMED Chaos.”

 

Simon laughed shaking his head.

 

“To be fair it’s not generally the crowds that bug him- just the idiocy. To be fair you’re bombarded by that in general. At least the noise of the club can drown out most of it- and it’s a lot easier to lose an unwanted admirer in a busy, crowded club.”

 

Alec and Magnus both blinked, leveling him with a curious look. Magnus smirked, eyes sparking in interest.

 

“And you know this how?”

 

Simon flushed, shifting nervously.

 

“Umm…oh uh…well…h-he mentioned it earlier.”

 

“Mentioned it…you met him?”

 

“No! No…well…not in person…he texted.”

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow.

 

“He texted you?”

 

“Yeah. See Magnus promised him he’d tell me that the blind date thing was off and he did and he texted him a picture of our conversation as proof and Raphael was relieved at first but after a bit he got to thinking Magnus gave up like, way too easily and the conversation didn’t actually have my name, just my number at the top and apparently he wouldn’t put it past Magnus to fake a conversation s-”

 

“Hey!”

 

Simon shrugged, holding his hands up placatingly.

 

“His words not mine. Anyways he wanted to make sure the conversation was real and that we were on the same page with tonight, so he texted to make sure and we talked a bit.”

 

Kevin snorted.

 

“A bit?”

 

“Yeah…a bit…”

 

“Dude- two hours is more than ‘a bit’.”

 

Magnus perked up, eyes sparkling in excitement, shifting towards him eagerly.

 

“Two hours!? You got Raph to talk for two hours? Like without snarking or insulting or anything?”

 

Simon shrugged.

 

“Well…there was some snarking but that was both of us, and I wouldn’t say ‘insulting’ so much as teasing…but it wasn’t like mean or anything.”

 

Magnus gave a bright laugh, glancing over at Alec quirking his eyebrow, smirking. Alec huffed, rolling his eyes, faintly shaking his head before turning back to Simon.

 

“So…he seems alright to you? I mean this morning you were pretty annoyed with the whole fix up thing…”

 

Simon nodded.

 

“Yeah I was, and I still would be. Blind dates are the stupidest idea known to man. There is no way that can NOT be awkward. It’s a crazy amount of pressure and a lot of excess awkwardness-

 

I SO do not need any help in that department thank you very much. But this is different. It’s not a date- we both agreed. Just two people who might have a few shared interests and work as friends. But yeah, I’m good meeting him. He seems really interesting, and really nice.”

 

Alec blinked, nodding.

 

“Uh huh…sure…nice. So are we ready to head in?”

 

Magnus nodded, smirking.

 

“Definitely…can’t wait to get you out on the dance floor gorgeous.”

 

“That’s not g-”

 

“Sweetheart you can’t back out now, you said...”

 

Simon flailed eagerly leaning forward.

 

“Wait! Did you actually get Alec to agree to dance? Is that seriously happening? _Is it?_ Oh my god, how did you ever get him to agree t-

 

Wait…is it something I _want_ to know?”

 

Magnus chuckled giving a cheeky wink, Alec flushed brightly, stammering, shaking his head quickly.

 

“N-no, nothing like that! It’s a bet okay? Just a bet. I thought it was a long shot, never gonna happen…though I’m starting to think it’s more of a possibility…not important. Are we going in or not?”

 

Kevin laughed, nodding excitedly.

 

“Oh we are so going in. Magnus, is there anything we can do to push this bet along? If there is we’re in.”

 

“Totally.” Simon chimed in, mimicking Kevin.

 

“Traitors…” Alec muttered flashing a heatless glare at the both of them, opening his door climbing out.

 

Magnus chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“No need dears I have this in the bag- I _sense_ it.” He smirked, flashing a playfully knowing wink, nodding towards the club.

 

“Now come along…Raph will be waiting- I really can’t wait for you to actually meet in person.”

 

Magnus popped the lock, bounding out of the car, slipping around next to Alec. Simon shifted closer to Kevin, leaning in.

 

“So is using psychic powers cheating in a bet?”

 

He shrugged.

 

“Well…in general I’d say yes…but if it gets Alec out on the dance floor I’m calling it fair play.”

 

Simon grinned, nodding quickly.

 

“Me too…let’s go…really don’t want to miss this.”

 

They chuckled, climbing out of the car, falling in next to the other two. Simon’s steps faltered slightly as they neared the entrance of the club, catching sight of the long line of people waiting behind the rope, door blocked by two very large, very intimidating looking bouncers with matching tough, ‘don’t even try it’ expressions... well, with matching everything really. Either they’re twins or Raphael actually IS a supervillian and has access to a cloning machine.

 

As they moved closer the bouncer on the right catches sight of them coming up from the opposite side. He looked them over dismissively, moving to block them, before startling faintly when his gaze landed on Magnus, whole expression changing. He shifted, nudging his brother, nodding towards Magnus, quickly moving over, reaching for the closure on the rope. The brother turned from the crowd, smiling, giving a slight wave.

 

“H-hey Magnus.”

 

Magnus smiled, nodding.

 

“Hello Ryder…I get that right?”

 

He gave a surprised smile, blushing, nodding quickly.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wonderful…and hello to you too Gage- good to see you boys again. How’s it been tonight?”

 

Ryder shrugged.

 

“Great- big crowd, lots of good energy no drama so far- all in all really good opening night.”

 

“That’s wonderful- let’s keep it that way, yes?”

 

They smirk, shrugging.

 

“That’s why we’re here…you can go right on in. Have fun.”

 

He moved to the side, holding the rope, Gage quickly moving over, opening the door for them, flashing a welcoming smile.

 

_Okay…not gonna lie- that’s pretty cool._

He’s never got that kind o-

 

_Oh…wow…_

Simon froze, swallowing, blinking in surprise. Woah…this place was insane! It was huge. Two floors, lights flashing and flickering, a low, rolling cloud of fog floating about a foot from the floor, catching and swirling with the lights and movements of the patrons giving the place an odd, almost ethereal type feel. Taking up half the left hand wall was a huge bar, no fewer than four bartenders milling about taking drink orders, passing out drinks, smiling, clearly working the crowd, even one doing that weird spinney bottle thing he only thought people did in the movies.

 

 And everywhere he looked there were people- dancing and drinking, laughing. It was absolutely packed. He’d been to clubs before but he’d never been anywhere like this- it was on an entirely different level.

 

He shook his head, glancing over at Alec and Kevin, both looking as shocked as he was. Magnus grinned, throwing one arm around Simon’s shoulders, the other around Alec’s squeezing, giving a bright laugh.

 

“So what do you guys think?”

 

“I think the name fits it perfectly.” Alec muttered, shaking his head, eyeing the cavorting crowd on the dance floor wearily.

 

Kevin rolled his eyes, glancing over.

 

“Are you kidding this is awesome!”

 

_“It’s a Thursday night!”_

“I know! Can you imagine it on the weekend?”

 

Alec gave a faintly horrified look, eyes widening slightly.

 

“Oh god no…”

 

Magnus chuckled, squeezing his shoulder.

 

“I know it’s a lot but once you get past the initial sensory overload it really is a lot of fun…just relax.”

 

He scoffed.

 

“How do you ‘relax’ in this? It’s madness! It is _literally_ Chaos!”

 

“It’s fun! Besides this is just right by the entrance. Entrance, dance floor and the bar are always the craziest places. Once we get inside and settled a bit it will be far less overwhelming. Raph will be upstairs in the VIP area- It’s a lot less crowded there; I think you’ll like it much more. Come on, the stairs are this way.”

 

 He led them over to a set of stairs along the right hand wall, moving up to the second floor, passing an equally intimidating- though thankfully not clone like- bouncer standing by the door. This one was a striking woman with short blonde hair, steely grey eyes and an ‘I dare you to try it’ expression…actually he takes it back; she’s a fair bit more intimidating than the twins. They at least smiled at Magnus. The one (He can’t remember which) even blushed. This woman didn’t even blink. She kinda reminded him of one of those Buckingham Palace guards you see that just stand there like statues…only he got the feeling if she had to move it was gonna be bad.

 

Yeah, he doesn’t want to find out.  Simon gave a kind of wide berth to the intimidating woman, settling close to the guardrail, glancing around curiously.  It was far less crowded up here- just a few booths around the edges, and a small, intimate bar type looking area on one side. In the center of the floor there was a large open area surrounded by a wrought iron guard rail, giving a perfect view of the packed dance floor below.

 

There weren’t a lot of people up here- maybe thirty tops. Most were standing over by the rail, chatting, watching the crowd down below, just relaxing. A few were over by the bar or clustered around two or three of the booths, chatting smiling and laughing. Oh my god…not only is he in a club he is in the VIP area of the club.

 

_Dude! He never thought he’d be anywhere like this. It was j-_

 

“There you are darling!” Magnus chirped, moving to greet somebody.

 

Simon startled, shaking his head, coming back to himself, glancing over to see who he w-…

 

_Oh…_

_Oh…wow…umm…_

_Wow._

 

O-okay umm…s-so earlier when he was panicking and fuming and griping at Kevin he’d said the guy was probably annoyingly hot…umm…h-he’d kind of underestimated that.

 

Like a lot…

 

A LOT, a lot…

 

**_Wow._ **

 

The man leaning casually against the rail was quite possibly the most beautiful person Simon had ever seen…ever. He’s dressed immaculately in slim, stylish black suit pants and a crisp, very well tailored black vest over a bold, blood red shirt.

 

_Huh, guess people DID wear suits to clubs…and apparently they looked damn good in them….like mind numbingly good…damn._

 

He was Latino, with deep brown, near black, perfectly styled hair, gorgeously sharp, striking features and the most beautiful espresso brown eyes Simon had ever seen. Oh wow…those eyes. They catch Simon’s a second and he feels kind of dizzy and lightheaded.

 

The guy looks like a freaking movie star…only somehow even better. Like, he did not know people actually looked like that in real life. Not without lighting tricks and make up and fancy camera angles and filters and even more lighting tricks…

 

Alright he’s having doubts about the whole ‘enthralling’ psychic power type thing…maybe it’s not so much ‘psychic-ness’ so much as…well… _THAT_ …

 

Again…damn…

 

Simon gulped, trying to stop his mind from spinning and return to the actual situation rather than just staring dumbfounded at the stupidly pretty man. His deep gaze shifts over the four of them, lingering questioningly on him and Kevin before settling on Magnus. He tilts his head, flashing a curious smile, Simon feels his heart rate pick up a few tics.

 

“Hey Mags…Glad you could make it.”

 

Magnus moved over, quickly slipping his arm around the guy, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, hugging him before shifting back to them with a beaming smile. The man glanced over at Alec, flashing a sharply teasing smirk, tilting his head, deep brown eyes sparking near playfully.

 

“Hello Alec…so good to see you again…having fun tonight?”

 

Alec huffed faintly, giving a sarcastic smile.

 

“Hey Raphael, yeah…fun.”

 

“Speak for yourself. I know we’ll have a blast once Magnus gets you out on the dance floor.” Kevin chimed in, grinning, giving a quick wave.

 

“Hi Raphael- you’re place is amazing- you did awesome. I’m Kevin.” He shifted, reaching over, resting his hand on Simon’s shoulder, squeezing, subtly pushing him a bit closer to the other man.

 

“And _this_ is Detective Simon Lewis, the guy you were talking with most of the afternoon.”

 

Simon flailed slightly, glaring his way before turning back to Raphael, swallowing, nervously brushing his hair back, giving a slightly awkward wave, blushing lightly.

 

“Umm…h-hi Raphael.”

 

Raphael moved closer, flashing a soft smile, holding his hand out. Simon shifted forward, taking his hand, shaking it. Raphael squeezed slightly, lingering, thumb lightly brushing over his knuckles, making no move to let go.

 

“Hello Simon, it is very nice to meet you…well…again…meet you in person I mean.” he gave a light chuckle, shrugging, a tiny bit of color brightening his cheeks.

 

“You too…well…me too…ugh…” He sighed rolling his eyes, flushing.

 

“Sorry. Swear I’m not usually THIS awkward…I mean not gonna lie I am totally awkward but usually I hide it a bit better than this.”

 

Raphael gave a surprised chuckle, flashing a warm smile.

 

“It’s fine…We’ll just blame Mags.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Simon laughed, nodding, shifting a bit closer.

 

“I’m good with that.”

 

“I’m not!” Magnus huffed, mock glaring at the two of them.

 

Raphael gave a totally unconcerned shrug.

 

“Eh…don’t care.” He slipped closer, again squeezing Simon’s hand, nodding out towards the crowd down below.

 

“Magnus-centric awkwardness aside I am glad you could come Simon…It is nice to meet you,” He paused, glancing over at Kevin, giving a slight nod.

 

“Both of you. I am happy to know Mags will have actual precinct based backup here- he’s never really had that. Not gonna lie, he’s a lot of work…requires near constant supervision- but for the most part he’s worth the trouble.”

 

Magnus huffed, rolling his eyes, nudging his shoulder.

 

“Love you too Raph.”

 

He smirked, rolling his eyes right back, turning back to the others, settling momentarily on Alec.

 

“Boyscout you really have no clue what you’re getting into here.”

 

Alec gave a slight chuckle, shrugging.

 

“Yeah…I kinda got that with the whole club/occult shop owners as contacts. If anything I have a feeling it’ll be interesting.”

 

Raphael outright laughed at that, nodding emphatically.

 

“Oh no question about that. Should be a whole new experience for everyone…Speaking of…” He shifted back to Simon, settling a bit closer, reaching over, lightly resting his hand on Simon’s arm.

 

“So Simon, what do you think of Chaos?”

 

“Dude are you kidding? This place is amazing! I’ve never been anywhere like this. You really did amazing…no wonder you were so busy today.”

 

Raphael smiled, shrugging.

 

“Thank you, glad you like it…have you got a chance to look around? I could give you a tour if you’d like…oh…” He startled faintly, glancing quickly over at Kevin, flashing an apologetic smile.

 

Kevin shook his head, shrugging.

 

“That’s a really nice offer but actually if it’s okay with you I kinda want to wander around a bit on my own. I’ve never actually got into a club like this; I’d like the chance to explore a minute. Why don’t you show Simon around and we can just meet back here a bit later?”

 

Simon rolled his eyes, blushing, flashing a heatless glare at Kevin.

 

“Real subtle Kev. Sorry about him that’s j-”

 

“A great idea…say, an hour?”

 

“What…wait…seriously?” Simon blinked in surprise.

 

Raphael chuckled, shrugging, flashing a slight, hopeful smile.

 

“Yeah…I mean…if it’s okay with you of course?”

 

“It is! Totally! That’d be awesome!...umm…C-cause I haven’t really been to many clubs and I’ve never got a chance to get a tour of one with the actual owner…umm…t-that…why...umm…so yeah…” he trailed off, cheeks flushing brilliantly, subconsciously shifting a little closer.

 

Raphael chuckled, eyes flickering over him, smiling softly before shifting back over to Kevin, giving an appreciative nod.

 

“Have fun, hope you like it…oh…Mags. Did you w-”

 

Alec sighed, meeting Simon’s eyes, flashing an encouraging smile before shaking his head, giving a shrug.

 

“Actually we’ll just meet you guys back here in an hour too. I promised Magnus a dance and he already insisted on showing me around…trying to win me over on the whole ‘club magic thing’. It’s not gonna happen but I did tell him he was welcome to try…right Magnus?”

 

Magnus blinked in surprise, flashing a brilliant smile.

 

“That I did…and I will win you over, just you wait. Have fun darlings. We’ll see you guys in a bit.” He gave a quick little fluttering wave, Alec reaching over, catching his hand, all but dragging him back over towards the stairs.

 

Simon blinked, shaking his head, looking over at Kevin, meeting an equally as surprised expression.

 

“Uh…dude?”

 

He chuckled, shrugging.

 

“I don’t even know…that might actually be crazier than the Komodo Dragon Caper today.”

 

Raphael blinked in confusion, glancing between the two curiously.

 

“Komodo Dragon Caper?”

 

Kevin grinned, patting Simon’s shoulder, yet again subtly nudging him closer to Raphael.

 

“Our case today, it was insane, Simon here was awesome though…but I’ll let him tell you about it…” He patted his shoulder once more, flashing a quick wink before turning, quickly making his way back towards the stairs.

 

Simon just barely fought off a groan. He shook his head, rubbing his temples.

 

“Oh my god my friends have all the tact of a bull in a china shop…” he muttered, hazarding a sheepish glance up at Raphael.

 

“Sorry, that was like painfully awkward. I know what we said, I know it’s not a date-I know you don’t want a date… they know it too, they’re just idiots…I mean they’re actually some of the most intelligent people I know…

 

But…umm, yeah…idiots…sorry…”

 

Raphael tilted his head.

 

“Well…yeah…I do not like the idea of a blind date…that is- as you said ‘all kinds of awkward’.”

 

He huffed, nodding animatedly.

 

“Oh my god it really is! Like how can it not be awkward you’re very first meeting being your first date? There needs to be some kind of a warm up to that…like a conversation or a shared interest or a…I don’t know…a coffee… _something_ …” He shook his head.

 

“That is just way too much pressure…no way it could work.”

 

“I completely agree. It’s far too much pressure. Definitely need some kind of introductory conversation/interest/coffee type thing first.”

 

“Exactly! Oh…sorry I kind of got sidetracked…I tend to do that a lot.”

 

Raphael chuckled softly, slipping closer, flashing a near playful little smile that made Simon’s heart race and his knees weak, hand coming to rest lightly on his arm.

 

“Yeah I kinda got that earlier, during our introductory conversation about our interests…”

 

Simon started a bit, glancing over, blushing.

 

“Umm…y-yeah…guess you kinda would have, huh?”

 

He nodded, squeezing his arm gently.

 

“Yup…I did…”

 

Simon took a couple deep breaths trying to get his heart rate to a more normal speed and tramp down the little buzzing thing, just barely managing to keep in a truly embarrassing laugh that was WAY too close to a giggle for a fully grown, twenty six year old adult man and detective.

 

“S-so…you were gonna show me around your club. Where do you want to go first?”

 

Raphael smirked, giving a slight shrug.

 

“Actually I think I want to start with my office, it’s over on the right hand side of the bar.”

 

Simon tilted his head curiously.

 

“Your office…why?”

 

“Well I have a brand new, state of the art coffee machine that I haven’t got a chance to try yet…”

 

 

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##  _*~Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*~_ _Alec_ _~*_

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Magnus laughed, shaking his head in amusement, pretty deep brown eyes impishly sparking, indulgently following along. Alec shrugged, squeezing his hand, leading him towards the dance floor through the mass of people trying to find a spot that wasn’t too terribly crowded and more importantly was well out of Simon and Kevin’s line of sight _(he was gonna have enough teasing from those two, they didn’t need to actually see him dancing)._ Finally seemingly satisfied with the spot he stopped, turning back to face Magnus, pausing, giving another slight shrug.

 

“Okay…umm…now what?”

 

Magnus laughed brightly, flashing a distractingly appealing, playful smirk.

 

“Shouldn’t that be my question? You led me over here after all.”

 

Alec huffed faintly, shifting from one foot to the other, giving a slightly hopeless gesture.

 

“Yes, but the extent of my plan was to get out of mocking range…this is all you. I don’t really ‘dance’. I’m have absolutely no clue what to do next.”

 

Magnus tilted his head, giving a warm, totally charmed smile, shifting a bit closer.

 

“You don’t know how to dance?”

 

“I-umm…not…not really…at least I don’t think I do. I don’t know if I’ve ever really tried.”

 

“Really, never?”

 

He shrugged, shaking his head. Magnus smiled settling closer.

 

“Well there’s a first time for everything, I’ll just have to teach you, it’s really not difficult.”

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow, gaze trailing around at the chaotic mess of people.

 

“Maybe not for you…”

 

Magnus chuckled, reaching over catching his hand, tugging him closer, glancing up at him through his lashes, pretty, impossibly deep brown eyes sparkling bright, beginning to move in time with the music.

 

“Not for you either...just relax, have fun and do what feels natural. Don’t over think or over analyze it.”

 

Alec hesitantly began to follow along. Well, he did his best in any case. He felt odd and clunky and awkward, movements nowhere near as smooth and graceful as the other man’s but Magnus didn’t seem annoyed or put off by it. He smiled encouragingly, tugging him in a bit more, moving perfectly in time with the music.

 

Alec gave a soft chuckle, steps faltering a little, trying to best mimic Magnus’s movements, subconsciously tugging him in closer, glancing up meeting Magnus’s pretty brown eyes, shrugging.

 

 “But Magnus over thinking and analyzing IS what feels natural to me. That’s pretty much what I do- ask anyone who knows me.”

 

“Why does that not surprise me?” Magnus chuckled, rolling his eyes near affectionately, stepping away a tiny bit, doing some spinney, swoopy, fluidly graceful kind of movement.

 

Alec paused, pointing.

 

“Okay now you’re just showing off.”

 

Magnus smirked flashing a playful wink, doing another perfectly fluid, annoyingly impressive move.

 

Alec quirked his eyebrow.

 

“I try that I’ll end up falling on my ass.”

 

Magnus chuckled, shrugging unconcerned, slipping in closer again, tugging him in.

 

“Sweetheart relax. If something isn’t you don’t do it- like I said just do what feels natural.”

 

He shrugged, again beginning to move with Magnus.

 

“Yeah again easy for you to say- obviously this comes natural to you. You’re like my sister Izzy; graceful movements, rhythm and style are all second nature. For me they’re just…well not. I’m stiff and awkward and not necessarily ‘uncoordinated’ but not coordinated in any graceful kind of way. It just seems so complicated. I don’t like going into something not knowing anything about it…feel like I should have researched…

 

I probably would have had I thought there was any chance whatsoever I’d lose the bet…it seemed like such a sure thing.”

 

Magnus gave a surprised bark of a laugh, eyes widening.

 

“Oh my god…you would have done that wouldn’t you? Actually research dancing?”

 

Alec flushed brightly, shrugging, scratching nervously at the back of his neck.

 

“Probably…at least then I might not feel as awkward.”

 

Magnus smiled softly shaking his head, tugging Alec closer, moving in time with the beat, coaxing Alec along.

 

“Okay now I’m actually more surprised that I was surprised- I’ve known you nearly an entire day, I should have seen that coming…

 

Gotta admit I’m kinda disappointed you didn’t. I’m curious what you’d of came up with, but it’s probably for the best. Dancing-this kind of dancing- isn’t about that. It’s not about perfection or precision or even really skill. It’s a way to let go of all of that for a bit, turn it off and just be in the moment.

This isn’t some competition. Try not to focus on the steps or technical things. It’s just about you and your partner. It’s about me and you relaxing and having fun, burning off stress, letting go of the drama, tension and craziness that builds up throughout the day. People in our line of work need something like that.”

 

He sighed faintly, relaxing a little, giving a slight shrug, tugging Magnus in closer, following along.

 

“Yeah we do…I have that…it’s just not this.”

 

Magnus tilted his head curiously.

 

“I have a heavy bag at home. If I have a really stressful day it helps a lot to blow off steam.”

 

“That would work- not nearly as much fun as dancing though.”

 

“I don’t know; it’s pretty fun…and a way better workout.”

 

Magnus slipped back a bit, doing one of those swoopy, fluid, stupidly skilled spinney type things, finishing with a little flourishing shrug.

 

“Depends on how you do it.”

 

Alec huffed, rolling his eyes, grinning, catching Magnus’s hand, tugging him back in, moving again with him, closer than before.

 

“You are **_such_** a show off.”

 

Magnus gave a soft, playful chuckle and totally unconcerned shrug.

 

“I’ve been called worse.”

 

Alec laughed tugging him in closer, losing himself in the movements and the music…In Magnus.

 

Can’t say he exactly minded the loss.

 

Alright, so he probably should have tried to hold out a little longer. I mean technically Magnus’s plan hadn’t worked yet…Neither of them are about to be calling it a ‘date’ anytime soon. However it’s pretty obvious that’s less ‘this won’t work’ and more ‘this totally worked we’re just too stubborn to admit it’.

He’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to see the near instant connection between Simon and Raphael. Whether they admit it or not Magnus’s little set up scheme worked perfectly.

 

He didn’t know how it’d work in the long run- they were very different and Raphael has that ‘danger’ vibe that kind of sets Alec’s teeth on edge. That being said Simon is an adult and an excellent detective in his own right. If there’s something off about the guy he’ll figure it out- a pretty face and a little charm isn’t enough to blind the kid for long. If there’s an issue he’ll find it and Alec will be there if he needs him.

 

It does make Alec a little nervous but he trusts Simon’s judgment. Besides Alec saw them meet…

 

He’d be the first to admit he can be stubborn as hell but he’s not so stubborn he can’t admit when he’s wrong. On Simon and Raphael, he was wrong. He’d never in a million years think those two would work in any way…or he wouldn’t have…until he actually saw them together.

 

The handshake alone was enough for him to realize he’d lost the bet.

 

And a bet’s a bet.

 

And he lost.

 

The music changes, a slower, softer song floating through the air. The lights shift lower, less chaotic. Magnus’s arms slip around Alec, pulling him in flush against him.  He settles somehow even closer, head momentarily resting on Alec’s shoulder, giving a soft, contented sigh, warm breath tickling Alec’s neck, sending a pleasant little shiver clear down his spine.

 

Alec’s breath catches slightly, hand at the small of Magnus’s back flexing, subconsciously pressing him closer. Magnus nuzzled in more, giving a soft, dizzyingly sultry chuckle and an approving hum, lips brushing lightly against Alec’s ear. Alec gulped, head spinning, feeling giddy and near intoxicated in a way that no alcohol could ever manage.

 

_God…he’s never been happier to lose a bet._

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, No Cliffhanger!
> 
>  
> 
> Starting out this verse was the least thought out- now not so much. We have a lot in store here. Just gonna kind of throw this out there? This verse I plan on being a bit darker than the others- well you know…my version of darker. I want the cases to be a bit darker, we’ll probably have more emotional scenes and the relationships are probably gonna be a bit more complicated than in most of the others.
> 
>  
> 
> You know it’s not gonna get too bad- I’m a total sap- they’ll all be okay, they’ll all end up happy with their love- it just might take a more circuitous route there (Don’t worry that doesn’t mean the standard relationship ‘complication’ type things like additional love interests or whatever- more miscommunications, stubbornness, self doubt and psychic craziness type complications).
> 
>  
> 
> It’s gonna be a lot, It’s gonna be complicated and we’re gonna have a lot of twists and turns…but that’s what makes it a good story.
> 
> I don’t want to give away too much of the ‘season’ but I want you guys to have an idea what all’s coming up so as with the other verses I’m just giving the titles of the upcoming stories in the series:
> 
>  
> 
> **A Study In Chaos-**
> 
> Opposites Attract-
> 
> Mediums And Medical Examiners-
> 
> Truth Or Dare-
> 
> Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)-
> 
> The Dead Speak (How Do You Get Them To Shut Up?)-
> 
> The Consequences Of Bad Acting-
> 
> Blast From The Past-
> 
> That Little Voice In Your Head (Is NOT Your Conscience)-
> 
>  
> 
> Yeah okay, I know it’s not a lot to go on but you can get an idea for some of them right?
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and commenting, you’re amazing!

**Author's Note:**

> So…did anyone see that coming?
> 
>  
> 
> I know it seems a bit crazy that someone would be able to trick a psychic, but Alec is a very skilled detective. If he’s read Magnus’s file he’d know how stubborn he is, and how opposed he is to working with a partner, that he wouldn’t just flat out agree to it…
> 
>  
> 
> But if he’s that reckless, it stands to reason he wouldn’t back down from a challenge,
> 
>   
>  I kinda like Alec being a bit sneaky,
> 
> this’ll be fun.
> 
>  
> 
> _So what do you think so far?_


End file.
